Inspiration
We were inspired by the challenges faced by millions of Africans, especially women and informal entrepreneurs, who are excluded from traditional banking systems. Many run small businesses, join savings groups (stokvels), and manage money daily yet they cannot access credit because they lack formal financial records or government-issued credit scores.
This inspired Inuka an AI-powered platform that creates a fair “trust score” for informal sector participants by analyzing alternative data such as mobile transactions, savings group activity, and community trust. Our goal is to give people the chance to rise (inuka means “rise” in Swahili) with financial access and empowerment.
What it does
Inuka empowers informal entrepreneurs and individuals excluded from traditional banking by creating an AI-driven trust score. It analyzes mobile transactions, savings group activity, and repayment history to unlock fair credit access and financial inclusion. Users receive actionable insights to improve their score and build trustworthiness, helping them access loans, services, or digital financial tools.
How we built it
Frontend: Mobile-first interface in React, designed for simplicity and accessibility on basic devices.
Backend: Secure API that collects user input and processes data for the AI scoring engine.
AI Engine: Lightweight machine learning model calculates a trust score based on alternative financial data.
Data Simulation: Created sample datasets to test the AI model and demonstrate the concept.
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