Lidya, a Nigerian SME lender founded by Tunde Kehinde, has decided to close its European business in Poland and the Czech Republic, redirecting its focus to its home market. After three years in Eastern Europe, the company is concentrating on its new credit assessment and loan recovery tools designed specifically for Nigeria’s growing fintech ecosystem.
Lidya’s strategic pivot centers on two new products: **Lidya Collect** and **Lidya Bridge**. Lidya Collect, initially developed for Lidya’s internal loan recovery, is now a standalone tool enabling lenders to recover outstanding loans by leveraging Nigeria’s Global Standing Instruction (GSI) system, which allows direct debits from defaulters’ accounts across banks. Developed with the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Collect is set to improve debt recovery efficiency for microfinance and financial institutions.
Launched in October 2023, Lidya Bridge enhances credit assessments by analyzing over 300 data points from borrowers’ bank statements, simplifying loan approvals for new customers. The company has already partnered with over 50 lenders and microfinance institutions to deploy these tools, targeting a sector where data-driven decision-making can significantly reduce risk.
Since its founding in 2016, Lidya has analyzed $50 billion in credit applications and issued $150 million in loans to 32,500 SMEs. This new focus on digital credit tools aims to strengthen Nigeria’s lending ecosystem, providing essential support for financial institutions and enhancing Lidya’s role in the domestic market.
