DGGF increases support to small businesses in Jordan
The Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) track Financing Local SMEs Through Investment Funds has just announced it is supporting Liwwa, Jordan’s first digital lender catered to small businesses.
Established in 2015, Liwwa offers affordable, unsecured loans in local currency equivalent to USD 7-70 thousand that are tenured between 3-36 months for trade and asset financing. Shortage of credit histories and collateral, and high transactions costs are amongst the factors prohibiting traditional financial intermediaries from serving the SME segment.
By leveraging digital platforms and data-driven approaches, Liwwa streamlines onboarding and assessment processes and builds a structured credit rating tool to circumvent the conventional obstacles to SME lending. The loan application process takes place entirely online; the resulting product enables borrowers to receive credit decisions within 48-hours and a competitive, risk based pricing. The product is based on Islamic financing principles.