Brief Project Description
Kanzu Microloans is an ILP-enabled digital infrastructure that allows SACCO members to access instant microloans through mobile and web self-service platforms. By integrating with the Rafiki network and leveraging ILP, we aim to automate credit scoring, disbursement, and repayment, allowing SACCOs to scale affordable lending with minimal friction.
Project Update
We’ve made strong progress on the backend implementation of the entire loan lifecycle, from loan product creation and credit scoring to disbursement and repayment integrations. The frontend for self-service loan application is still under development, but once live, users will be able to request and repay microloans entirely through the Kanzu Finance mobile and web apps.
Key updates:
- The Rafiki adapter is under development to support disbursement and repayment processing via ILP.
- The MoMo integration for mobile money disbursement is complete and tested.
- The team is 90% staffed. We are still working on the sales department.
- Talks and consultations with the Bank of Uganda and the Ministry of Finance are underway regarding obtaining the NPS and the digital lending licenses.
- The board profiles for the new board are complete, and candidates have been put forward.
The technical stack is nearly ready, and we are gearing up to begin end-to-end user testing in the next development sprint.
Project Impact & Target Audience(s)
Kanzu MicroLoans is designed for low-income SACCO members, especially women, youth, and informal traders who often lack access to credit. These individuals rely heavily on mobile money, but the lack of real-time loan processing prevents them from responding to urgent financial needs.
This project will:
- Reduce loan processing from days to seconds
- Enable 24/7 access to credit through self-service platforms
- Increase transparency and autonomy in SACCO financial services
The solution empowers financially underserved populations, aligns with the Interledger Foundation’s mission to foster open payments, and brings real-world ILP adoption to grassroots financial systems.
Progress on Objectives, Key Activities
Objectives
- Develop a fully functional, ILP-enabled Instant Microloans Infrastructure within Kanzu Banking that allows SACCOs, VSLAs, and MFIs to offer real-time loans to their members.
- Advance Financial Inclusion for the Underserved by providing accessible, fast, and secure microloans, especially to women and low-income communities who are unbanked or underbanked.
- Leverage Open Infrastructure (ILP + Rafiki) to ensure cross-border, interoperable payments and build the foundation for scalable, open financial rails.
- Strengthen SACCOs & VSLAs by enabling them to operate digitally, reduce costs, automate credit scoring, and scale their impact sustainably.
Key Activities
- Backend & Frontend Development - Develop and integrate the loan product engine, credit scoring, loan disbursement, and repayment modules into Kanzu Banking.[In Progress]
- Complete Rafiki adapter integration and mobile/web front-end interfaces. [In Progress]
- Sandbox Testing & Rafiki Peering [Pending]
- Create a developer playground to test Rafiki functionality and simulate loan operations.[Pending]
- Peer with a public Rafiki node and conduct stress testing for interoperability.[Pending]
- User-Centric Design & Accessibility - Build for low digital literacy with clear UI/UX.[In Progress]
- Community & Regulatory Engagement [In Progress]
- Align with UMRA [Ministry of Finance], BoU, and NITA-U to meet regulatory requirements.[In Progress]
- Engage with the ILP developer community and contribute to the ecosystem.[In Progress]
- Marketing & Communication - Publish blog posts, run webinars, and document impact stories.[Pending]
Communications and Marketing
Shared progress with fintech leaders at Seamless East Africa 2025 — the irony of tech exclusion (no WiFi at the venue) sparked powerful conversations about infrastructure and access.
Internal blog post on the microloan use case in ILP context being drafted.
Marketing materials (video explainers and SACCO onboarding guides) are in production.
What’s Next?
- Complete frontend development for self-service microloan requests and repayments
- Finalise Rafiki adapter development for loan disbursement and repayment workflows
- Begin pilot testing with selected SACCOs and track user experience
- Launch a communication campaign to onboard more SACCOs
- Venture into new markets to promote cross-border transactions
- Acquire all the licenses needed for regulatory compliance
Community Support
We’d love:
- Feedback on building ILP use cases in credit infrastructure
- Connections to partners testing Rafiki or ILP in similar environments
- Shared insights on credit scoring engines in low-data contexts
Additional Comments
This project is showing us how vital intentional infrastructure is for true financial inclusion. By embedding ILP into everyday SACCO workflows, we’re making finance work for the last mile, not just the middle.
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