Douala, Cameroon - In what may be considered a “first of its kind” in the Cameroon banking sector, The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has entered into a collaborative agreement with award winning FinTech innovator, Ovamba Solutions, Inc. (a Founder Institute Johannesburg portfolio company) to support their business customers with “Growth-As-A-ServiceTM.”
“Growth-As-A-ServiceTM” is Ovamba’s flagship TradeTech innovation specially created for businesses involved in trade, importation and manufacturing. The suite of technology and business services that Ovamba will provide to the bank’s customers combines capital, supply chain & management software, eCommerce, logistics and on-Demand warehousing.
Ovamba’s Management team have long understood the challenges that banks face when evaluating the risks involved in lending to businesses, especially those in the informal sector. “We created BankPartner LiteTM for banks like UBA who want to satisfy Central Bank mandates to finance businesses and offer financial inclusion; whilst trying to simultaneously manage performance risk and loan defaults’, said Viola Llewellyn, Co-General Manager of Ovamba.
“UBA has shown vision and leadership ahead of many banks who are still trying to figure out how to engage FinTech innovations to retain customers and grow a healthy loan portfolio”, said Marvin Cole, Co-General Manager of Ovamba. He further added, “Change is a difficult thing to navigate within banking circles. We congratulate UBA for their commitment to their customers who we look forward to supporting with real growth and success.”
Dominique Mahend, UBA Cameroon MD/CEO praised this innovative solution. “Thanks to Ovamba this will help UBA, better serve businesses in the informal sector who need financing but do not meet the conditions set for credit by banks. BankPartner LiteTM is welcome at a time when the informal sector is poised to play an important role in the Cameroon economy.”
UBA will use BankPartner LiteTM to identify eligible customers who may have failed to qualify for loans in the past. These customers will be supported with Ovamba’s unique alternative approach to funding and growth on behalf of UBA via Ovamba’s mobile app, Ovamba PlusTM (downloadable from Google). Ovamba expects to start funding UBA's customers within the next few weeks.
About Ovamba: Ovamba is an award winning African “TradeTech” company that creates culturally attuned technologies to serve formal and informal African businesses in the trade & manufacturing sectors. Ovamba’s solutions combine innovative Sharyia compliant structures with eCommerce, logistics services, and technology to drive financial inclusion and promote growth. Ovamba was founded in the USA in 2013 and has operations in Cameroon and Ivory Coast.
About UBA Cameroon: UBA Cameroon began operations December 18th, 2007 with a single branch. In 2011, the Bank moved from 13th to 9th position in terms of deposits and other performance indicators amongst competitors. The Bank has won customer service awards in 2011 and 2012. Over the last 10 years, operations in Cameroon has seen customer base exceed 100,000, and has grown to 16 branches and 3 payment centers. UBA is currently 6th in the Country.
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