Credable, the Dubai-headquartered fintech whose software powers lending and savings products across Africa, is rebranding to _able after facilitating more than $650 million in loans as it expands beyond digital credit.
The company, which works with partners including M-PESA, Airtel, Access Bank and Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), says the new name reflects its evolution from a digital credit provider into a broader financial technology company that supplies the software, risk management and portfolio systems behind lending, savings and other financial products.
The move reflects a growing market for companies that provide the technology powering digital finance services. As banks and telecom operators push deeper into lending and savings products, they are turning to specialised providers such as _able for the technology, underwriting and portfolio management systems needed to run those businesses.
“Over time, it became clear that our role was no longer simply about determining who is credible,” Nadeem Juma, co-founder and chief executive of _able said in a statement. “It was about building the infrastructure that enables financial access at scale.”
The opportunity is significant. Small and medium-sized businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa face an estimated $100 billion financing gap, creating demand for companies that help financial institutions assess borrowers, manage risk and distribute credit more efficiently.
Unlike traditional lenders, _able does not primarily make loans from its own balance sheet. Instead, it sits between capital providers and distribution channels, supplying the technology, risk models and portfolio management systems that connect the two.
Banks, development finance institutions and investment funds provide funding, while mobile money operators, fintechs and financial institutions use the platform to offer credit and savings products. The model has enabled the company to facilitate more than $650 million in lending despite raising about $2.7 million in disclosed funding from investors including Ventures Platform, Launch Africa, Plug and Play, MAGIC Fund and AAIC Investment.
While the company remains best known for digital credit, it told TechCabal on Tuesday that it plans to make its lending and savings technology available to more banks, telecom operators and fintechs, allowing them to launch financial products without building their own risk and portfolio management systems.
The company is also opening its credit and savings infrastructure to additional distribution partners and capital providers as it looks to build on a footprint that already reaches more than 40 million customers across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique and Zambia.
“Our mission remains unchanged,” added Juma. “We believe credit is one of the most powerful tools of economic empowerment. Our ambition is to help enable access to credit and savings for hundreds of millions of people globally.”
Founded in 2021 by Juma, former private equity executive Jad Abbas and technology executive Michael Tarimo, the company is headquartered in Dubai, with an operations hub in Nairobi, a market and innovation centre in Dar es Salaam, and a technology and intelligence hub in Pune, India.
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