Bfree Bags $3.1M to Tackle Bad Loans in Africa
🇳🇬 Here’s Bfree
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Bfree is a Nigerian fintech firm that handles defaulted digital loans using automation and a focus on ethical treatment.
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They’ve just secured a $3.1M strategic investment.
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Investor check. The Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund led the funding, with Capria Ventures, AXIAN Investment, and Launch Africa also providing capital.
📊 Handling the Backlog
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While digital lending grew quickly across Africa, it left behind roughly $740M in unpaid debt. Standard collection methods often use harassment or public shaming to get results.
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Bfree is changing this by using machine learning to look at 6.6M borrowers and figure out who can actually afford to pay. No aggressive tactics needed.
🤝 Numbers and Empathy
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The platform has already managed more than $740M in distressed loans for 30 different financial institutions.
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They use their own pricing models to value debt accurately.
💰 Using the Cash
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The new funds will help Bfree buy portfolios of written-off loans to manage them directly as their own assets.
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The team is also looking into blockchain tools to make trading these debts between companies faster.