Chioma Okotcha is helping Nigeria switch to clean energy by making it easier for people, businesses, and installers to get financing for clean energy equipment. Funding poses a significant challenge for many small businesses in Africa. Despite being crucial economic growth and job creation drivers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) encounter serious obstacles when seeking loans.
According to the SME Finance Forum, the annual funding gap for African SMEs is approximately $330 billion. This shortfall underscores entrepreneurs’ difficulties in securing the capital needed to expand their businesses. Traditional banks are not providing enough support, as they impose strict lending requirements, extensive paperwork, high collateral demands, and lengthy loan approval processes. Chioma Okotcha, co-founder and COO of Payhippo, experienced this challenge firsthand, watching her mother and grandmother, both business owners, struggle with the same financing issues.
“I remember one of our very first customers who was an excellent entrepreneur. He had built up his business on his own and was trading large volumes. Unfortunately, at the time, he was always losing out on business transactions that were time-sensitive. On his interaction with our product, his business accessed credit in under 24 hours,” Chioma Okotcha told Ventures Platform.
Instead of waiting for banks to change, she co-founded a fintech company that disburses loans to SMEs in under three hours—without requiring collateral.
From medicine to fintech
Okotcha never planned to be a fintech leader. Growing up, she wanted to be a doctor. But after realising she couldn’t handle the emotional toll of medicine, she pivoted to computer science and later earned a Master’s in Public Administration from Sciences Po. She then ventured into microfinance policy and consulting, working with organisations like the Tony Blair Institute and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Her “aha” moment came when she met her co-founder, Uche Nnadi, while playing flag football in Lagos. They bonded over their shared frustration with the challenges SMEs faced in accessing credit, which led to the creation of Payhippo.
Payhippo brings speed, simplicity, and inclusion
Traditional banks assess loans based on collateral and rigid credit histories, but Payhippo does it differently. Instead of requiring collateral, the platform analyzes bank statements, transaction history, and even social media activity to assess creditworthiness. Business owners apply online and receive funding within three hours—a game-changer compared to the weeks or months that banks take.
Payhippo makes it easier for businesses and households to access clean energy solutions. The company provides specialised loans to support adopting solar energy, mini-grids, and other renewable energy sources for homes and businesses. It also supports projects that reduce carbon emissions and funds mini-grid energy projects to reduce the reliance on expensive diesel and petrol generators.
Since its launch in 2019, Payhippo has issued over 36,000 loans to 5,000 users, injecting over ₦34 billion in disbursements into Nigeria’s SME sector – all with a 97% repayment rate. Many SMEs rely on Payhippo to pay employees, expand operations, and keep their businesses running.
