In a groundbreaking collaboration, VFD Microfinance Bank, the operator of VBank, Nigeria’s leading digital bank, has forged a strategic partnership with Zowasel, an innovative agricultural technology company to dedicate a significant amount of $100,000 USD towards enhancing the dissemination of agricultural loans leveraging Zowasel’s cutting-edge Alternative Credit Evaluation Scoring System (ACESS).
The alliance is aimed at revolutionizing the agricultural sector, enhancing productivity, sustainability, and profitability throughout the entire agricultural value chain in Nigeria.
Together, VBank and Zowasel are poised to pave the way for a new era of growth and advancement in the agricultural industry, harnessing the power of technology and financial expertise to drive transformative change.
Also, the strategic investment will empower farmers and agribusinesses by providing them with improved access to vital financial resources for growth and development.
Commenting on the bank’s commitment to the initiative, Gbenga Omolokun, the Managing Director of VFD Microfinance Bank, said: ‘’With a deep understanding of the pivotal role of smallholders in Nigeria’s economy, the partnership seeks to democratize access to bottom-of-the-pyramid financing, thereby empowering smallholder farmers, agricultural cooperatives, and SMEs by providing them with enhanced access to finance resources.’’
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In the same vein, Zowasel’s Director of Partnerships, Mr. Anietie Bassey, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, emphasizing VFD’s steadfast support and belief in the Zowasel project.
‘’The collaboration aims to construct a robust alternative scoring system by harnessing extensive data from Zowasel’s Marketplace, remote Crop Centers, and a vast network of smallholder farmers, cooperatives, and extension officers across Nigerian farming communities.’’ He noted.
The ACESS, a state-of-the-art solution, combines the prowess of an AI-driven Predictive Dynamic System (PDS) and a human-driven Dynamic Variable System (DVS). It functions as an ethical credit scoring and loan assessment tool, bridging the gap between financial establishments and organizations engaged with farmers, startups, cooperatives, and SMEs.
ACESS effectively unlocks agricultural financing across the entire value chain.
This software empowers organizations to digitize farmers’ data and automate various value chain processes, encompassing cultivation practices, behavioural biometrics, harvest and sales records, and cost and income data points. By transforming this data into actionable insights,
