Visa, DEG, AfricInvest, others invest in Oze
Oze is a Ghana-based provider of AI-powered digital lending solutions for financial institutions and SMEs.
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Oze, a Ghana-based provider of AI-powered digital lending solutions for financial institutions and SMEs, has secured investment from global payment company Visa and German development finance institution DEG. Existing investors, including Speedinvest and AfricInvest through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, also invested.
“Visa is committed to fostering innovation and financial inclusion across Africa, and Oze’s vision aligns perfectly with that mission. Their approach to enabling digital lending for underserved small businesses is transformative, and we are excited to partner with them to drive this change,” said Fabrice Konan, country manager, Visa Ghana.
DEG’s investment comes through its Up-Scaling Programme, which targets high-impact, innovative business models in developing and emerging markets.
“Oze’s technology has the potential to unlock financial opportunities for millions of small businesses in Africa, creating sustainable development and fostering inclusive growth. We are proud to support their expansion,” said Tobias Bidlingmaier, head of Up-Scaling at DEG.
With this funding, Oze plans to scale its lending management system (LMS), a tool designed to enable financial institutions – including banks, microfinance institutions, and fintechs – to offer unsecured, no-collateral digital loans to merchants and small businesses. The LMS is powered by Oze’s proprietary machine-learning credit risk algorithm, which ensures smarter and more efficient lending decisions.
“This funding will accelerate our mission to empower small businesses across Africa. By scaling our lending management system, we can help more financial institutions unlock the potential of SMEs and drive financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale,” said Meghan McCormick, Oze’s co-founder and CEO.
In partnership with commercial banks such as Ecobank, Oze operates in Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Benin, Rwanda, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho, with plans to expand further across the continent.
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