Alaafia, a new frontier microlending company, is on a bold mission to unlock the economic potential of Africa’s underserved markets, starting with the 32 million nano-businesses across Nigeria. In just six months of quiet experimentation, Alaafia has built, tested, and proven a trust-based, community-backed lending model that has shown zero default in pilot markets.
Founded by a team of experienced social innovators and redemptive builders, Alaafia’s approach departs from the status quo of digital lending, which often excludes the underserved due to high interest, rigid requirements, or predatory practices. Instead, Alaafia works with communities—using group accountability, local verification, and flexible daily repayments to extend microloans without collateral or digital literacy barriers.
“Most nano-businesses don’t default because they’re dishonest, but because the system was never designed for them,” said Samson Oladapo, Founder of Alaafia. “We’re rebuilding that system—from the ground up.”
Alaafia believes in more than just access to credit. The company is creating an entire economic infrastructure for nano-businesses, starting with financing, and soon expanding to digital bookkeeping, asset/inventory financing, micro-insurance, and business intelligence —all tailored to feature phone users.
With over 2,000 customers in its pipeline and a roadmap to scale to 5,000 customers in 6 months, Alaafia is now at a critical inflection point. The team is actively seeking aligned partners, impact-driven investors, and ecosystem collaborators to join its journey.
“We don’t see nano-businesses as micro players—we see them as the economic engine of Africa,” Samson added. “And when empowered, they can unlock the economic potential of their people and communities.”
About Alaafia
Alaafia is a social-fintech startup redefining access to credit in underserved markets. Through social trust, local accountability, and flexible loan models, Alaafia is building the most inclusive financial system for Nigeria’s 32 million nano-businesses and Africa at large.
