CreditChek Lands $600,000 for East Africa Push

Lending in Africa has become easier. Deciding who should receive a loan remains much harder. Nigerian startup CreditChek wants to address that challenge. The company is preparing to expand into East Africa after raising $600,000 in a funding round led by Janngo Capital. CreditChek provides credit intelligence and income verification tools to lenders. It will use the funding to enter Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Existing investor Assembly Investors joined the round. Vastly Valuable Ventures and Unipeg Capital also participated.

The data problem behind African lending

Many lenders across Africa still struggle to assess risk accurately. Millions of consumers and small businesses have limited credit histories. Financial information is often scattered across different platforms. As a result, lenders may reject worthy borrowers. Others take on more risk than they intended. CreditChek believes better data can help solve the problem. Founded in 2022 by Kingsley Ibe and Lionel Orishane, the startup works with banks, fintechs and microfinance institutions. Its tools help lenders build a clearer picture of borrowers before approving loans.Its Credit Insight product gives access to credit records from multiple markets. Income Insight analyses bank statements to verify income and track cash-flow patterns. CreditChek says loans assessed using its platform have recorded delinquency rates more than 75% lower than those under traditional underwriting methods. “We’re building infrastructure that helps lenders make better decisions,” said chief executive Kingsley Ibe. “East Africa is a natural next step. Demand for credit is growing, but reliable borrower data remains limited.”

Why East Africa?

The market opportunity is significant. Africa’s financing gap for micro, small and medium sized businesses exceeds $330 billion. Digital lending has grown rapidly across the continent. Yet many financial institutions still struggle to verify a borrower’s financial position. East Africa has become one of Africa’s most active lending markets. Kenya’s licensed Digital Credit Providers had disbursed 7.5 million loans worth KES133.5 billion ($1 billion) by February 2026. Uganda’s mobile money sector has grown steadily over the past five years. Rwanda’s financial inclusion rate reached 96% in 2024. For CreditChek, these trends highlight a growing need for better credit assessment tools. Lenders need reliable ways to distinguish low-risk borrowers from high risk ones.

Building a profitable expansion

Janngo Capital founder Fatoumata Bâ said better financial data can help lenders serve more customers. It can also help limit exposure to bad debt. CreditChek operates a pay per use model. The company says it processed more than $60 million in credit applications during 2025. Those applications covered one million customer profiles. Unlike many fintech startups, CreditChek says its Nigerian business is already profitable. The company now hopes to achieve similar results in East Africa. Competition among digital lenders is increasing. Demand for reliable credit information is rising as well.