When Balogun Idowu’s seventh loan application had been denied he was desperate for help but had no one to turn to.
“Even though I do not have a negative credit reputation I do not have a credit record. I also do not own property, which counted against me,” said Idowu.
Idowu continued to search on the Internet and came across Social Lender, a lending platform that determines credit worthiness on the basis of social reputation on social media platforms. “For the first time it did not matter if I did not have a credit record, own a property or receive a high income every month – I could loan money because I had a good social reputation on Facebook and Twitter,” said Idowu.
He immediately applied for a microloan in order to settle his child’s school fees balance. “Social Lender saved me a lot of embarrassment when I urgently needed to settle my child’s nursery school fees. If I did not pay the outstanding N10 000 my child would have had to leave the school,” said Idowu. He said that it only took him a few minutes to apply for the loan and less then a day to receive the money into his account.
“If it was not for Social Lender my son would probably have been at home now and not in nursery school,” Idowu added. He said Social Lender has helped him through a few family emergencies when he needed money urgently.
“The platform’s website is very simple and easy to use. I also like the SMS and email alert a week before I have to make a repayment.” Idowu said that he was very grateful to Social Lender for giving him access to microloans and for the organisation’s great service. “I want to thank Sterling Bank for bringing Social Lender to low income earners. The service saved me and my family so many times,” he added.
