This initiative is empowering informal retail traders across the Eastern & Southern Africa Region

In a groundbreaking partnership, Nomanini, Nestlé, and Standard Bank have joined forces to empower informal small traders across the Eastern and Southern Africa region. This initiative aims to revolutionize the way digital financial services are delivered to informal retailers, enabling them to access credit and grow their businesses. Vahid Monadjem, CEO and Founder of Nomanini, sheds light on the transformative impact of this collaboration. Nomanini collaborates with financial service providers, manufacturers, and distributors of fast-moving consumer goods to integrate digital financial services into the FMCG supply chain. By embedding financial services within the supply chain, retailers, whether banked or unbanked, can access credit and expand their businesses. Working with Nestlé, covering 23 markets from South Africa to Eritrea, the partnership is set to reach hundreds of thousands of retail merchants in the informal sector. Monadjem emphasizes the importance of the informal market, highlighting its significant contribution to employment in Africa and its role as the primary source of essential goods for everyday consumers. Leveraging established distributor networks, including multinational companies like Nestlé, the initiative aims to provide digital financial services to financially excluded entrepreneurs, enhancing their access to credit and financial tools. The long-term vision of the partnership is to offer financial services across a wide range of products traded by informal retailers. By financing every shelf in their stores, the initiative seeks to empower informal traders to compete on equal footing with formal sector businesses, which benefit from favorable cash cycles and supplier terms. One of the key challenges in extending working capital to informal traders lies in addressing their documentation requirements. However, the initiative has successfully navigated compliance and regulations while demonstrating the creditworthiness of these merchants. Monadjem emphasizes the low default rates among informal traders, which have instilled confidence in credit teams to provide greater support to this underserved sector. A critical aspect of the initiative is ensuring that financial services are tailored to add value to retailers and seamlessly integrated into their business operations. By packaging services that align with the needs and context of informal traders, the initiative aims to drive adoption and foster business growth without disrupting existing operations. The success of the trial run has been remarkable, with high uptake rates and seamless integration into existing supply chains. By offering business loans with advantageous terms, the initiative has transformed the delivery process of goods by enabling delivery teams to provide financing options to retailers during product deliveries. In a compelling pitch to informal traders, Monadjem simplifies the value proposition by highlighting the ease of access to credit for stocking products on shelves. The initiative aims to facilitate smoother business operations and cash flow management for retailers by offering convenient and flexible financing options. As the initiative unfolds across all 23 markets covered by Nestlé, the impact on informal retailers in the Eastern and Southern Africa region is expected to be substantial. The collaboration between Nomanini, Nestlé, and Standard Bank signifies a significant step towards promoting financial inclusion and empowering informal small traders to thrive in a competitive market landscape. With a focus on sustainable business growth and economic empowerment, this partnership heralds a new era of opportunity for informal retailers in the region.