Introduction
Utambuzi is launching in Kenya. Utambuzi which translates to ‘insights’ or ‘diagnosis’ in Swahili is looking to change the scope of personal finance management.
The product, based on a business-to-customer model, helps a person track his/her income, detect fraudulent transactions, and gives the individual access and the power to choose verified and credible lenders.
With Utambuzi, users gain insights into their spending; “managing your finances doesn’t have to be a long arduous task to tick off the box, Utambuzi gives you the opportunity to see the finer details of what and how your income and expenses are while giving you access to vetted lenders to reach your financial goals,” says Samuel, the Product Manager.
The product highlights over 80 variables, including spending patterns while showing the credit affordability of the user. The standout of this product is the power it gives borrowers as opposed to the custom of lenders having overriding power.
With Utambuzi, the user has the power to choose from the already onboarded credible lenders right in the comfort of their homes. Lenders on the other hand have access to verifiable borrowers, taking off the stress of Know Your Customers (KYC).
“It is like a bridge that connects the customer to credible lenders.
With Utambuzi, the customer does not have to worry about lenders as his income analysis is readily available for the lenders to see,” the statement says.
Why Utambuzi?
The difficulty of the process of applying for loans in Africa cannot be emphasized enough. From getting several documents for KYC to getting stuck in traffic just for loan approval, the stress can be overwhelming and this may just be a cog in the wheel of closing the credit gap in Africa.
With Utambuzi, the consumer does not have to go to the bank, get stuck in traffic, queue, and file several documents just because of a loan.
Right there in the palm of their hands with their mobile phone or with a few clicks on their desktop computers, they can choose any of the credible lenders available on the platform.
Another benefit of Utambuzi is the risk assessment and prevention solution embedded in the product. Users get to know when there is a duplicate transaction or unauthorized transactions which they can escalate to their banks or payment service providers.
The lack of a robust security framework has made fraudulent transactions prevalent, however, the machine learning model in Utambuzi detects and reports the transactions that were not authorized by the user.
“Our analytics gives customers the ability to manage their finances right from their fingertips, as they cover over 80 variables. Users of this product have unhinged access to verified and non-predatory lenders, which is a key benefit compared to other personal finance management products. The lenders would be onboarded and the users can send their details to lenders of their choice and carry out the credit transactions. It is a great product and one of its kind,” says Elly Tangaza, the Business Development Manager at Utambuzi.
It can also be argued or stated that Utambuzi has come to Kenya to play a role in addressing the issue of insufficient data analytics of individuals.
In addition to fixing the data analytics gap, the product is intended to improve financial inclusion by offering financial businesses the ability to offer facilities to people who have been financially excluded through automated data assessment tools that can close the consumer credit gap.
Onboarding/customer journey
Accessing Utambuzi in Kenya is easy for any person. You should go to the web app via utambuzi.com on your internet-enabled phone. Fill in your details. Utambuzi will then verify them and, you then can access the service. The product will be free for the first 200 signups, Utambuzi says.
You can also access the mobile app by going to the Google Playstore to download the app.
How to use Utambuzi
After signing up as described above, Utambuzi users can log in, upload their bank statements, and access analysis that highlights over 80 variables, such as affordability, cash flow, behavioral patterns, most frequent transactions, and many more, all to help the user understand their financial situation and how best to manage it.
Final words
As you may have already gathered, Utambuzi is here for people across diverse industries, provided they have internet-enabled devices. Others such as lenders would also rather have their solution registered and with credible borrowers, which is where Utambuzi comes in.
It should be noted that implementing data modeling for decision-making and taking advantage of alternative data sources for a credit app is one of the holistic approaches that Utambuzi has used for risk assessment. Information sourced from its system provides better visualization and reporting, which improves speed, efficiency, and decision-making.
Fintech is big in the Kenyan market, and it has reached new heights where it influences customer expectations in terms of lending. To stay ahead of the competition, traditional lenders should be ready to embrace change and use products offered by the likes of Utambuzi.
Download Utambuzi on Google Playstore or visit utambuzi.com to sign up for free in less than a minute. The first 200 signups require zero fees to get their analytics.
