DataHack4FI country winner discovering the prospect of using financial management and accounting systems to generate credit scores

Almost half the micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Zambia – comprising approximately 80% [1] of Zambia’s private-sector businesses – perceive the lack of access to credit as a significant hurdle to their business operations [2]. They are often restricted due to lack of collateral, financial records and information on the business.

This case study explores the potential of using MSME data, such as sales, expenses and investments, to generate a credit score that could be used by financial service providers as an alternative measure of MSME creditworthiness.

This is one in a series of case studies from Season 2 of the DataHack4FI Innovation Award competition. The competition brings together data enthusiasts and financial service providers to promote the use of data-driven decision-making in financial inclusion. For a similar case study in Season 1, read more here. Find out more about the competition at datahack4fi.org.

[1] World Bank (2010). Zambia Business Survey – An Analysis of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

[2] University of Zambia and the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research. (2013). Formal Bank Credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Zambia: Lessons and Implications.

Insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and driven by Cenfri and Finmark Trust.