07 Sep 2023

The N’stakolle Loan product has proved to be a market favorite as more than 1.5 million loans have been issued in 7 months since launch.

Briefing the media Wednesday in Gaborone, Mr Seabelo Pilane said Orange Money N’stakolle Loan was launched in November 2022 through a partnership between Orange Money Botswana and Access Bank Botswana.

Mr Pilane said the partnership was purposed to offer Orange Money registered customers access to affordable real time loans (nano loans).

“This incredible milestone shows that the Orange Money N’stakolle product met and addressed a market opportunity and a high demand for low cost-low value loans; a reality which also influenced the most recent decision to increase limits and the number of eligible customers who qualify for loans,” he said.

He said expanding financial inclusion was the core of Orange Money’s mission, an ambition which was reflected in the motto ‘Orange Money…All Day, Every Day’ which signified how the company continuously work to provide real world solutions that aimed to meet key needs around our customers’ daily lives.

Mr Pilane said they believed that having the right strategic partners as they did in Access Bank Botswana was critical; the ability of the teams to work tirelessly to introduce Botswana’s first low cost, real time nano loan and have it become a success was truly inspiring and humbling.

He said N’stakolle loans were initially introduced with loan amounts ranging from P50 to P1 200, citing that following increased demand from customers the thresholds were changed to start from P20 minimum up to a maximum of P2 000.

“To access the loan, customers dial the Orange Money short code (*145#) and follow prompts, similarly repayment of the loan can be done through the Orange Money platform. Interest on loans range from 7.5% and 12.5% depending on the tenure of the loan which each customer chooses, the options for which are 3, 7, 14, 21 and 30 days,” he said.

Mr Pilane said Orange Money was devoted to contributing to the growth and advancement of Botswana mobile financial services landscape.

“Our primary goal was to empower Batswana, allowing them to actively participate in the financial ecosystem with sense of pride and dignity,” he said.

Mr Pilane said they firmly believed that providing access to N’stakolle loans played a pivotal role in achieving this mission. He reiterated that the simplicity and transparency of N’stakolle loan enabled customers to have the freedom of choice to meet their financial needs promptly.

By leveraging N’stakolle loan’s real-time processing, customers were spared the need to wait in queues or endure time-consuming application processes, he concluded. Ends