MTC Namibia has reportedly teamed up with Letshego Micro Financial Services to launch a pilot for a new mobile microlending platform that will provide instant loans to customers via their mobile phones.
According to TechAfrica News, the new USSD-based platform – branded Tamba Maris – enables customers to access loans from NAD100 (around US$5.50) to NAD1,500, with repayment periods of seven, 14 or 30 days, and interest rates ranging from 14% to 22% depending on the duration of the loan period.
Letshego said that loan applications are processed using automated Know Your Customer (KYC) and credit scoring systems powered by Credit Info, with the approval process and loan disbursement taking less than a minute. Customers can repay the loans via their MTC Maris mobile money wallet.
The Tamba Maris pilot is operating within a regulatory sandbox established by Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) and the Bank of Namibia, which allows for controlled testing of financial innovations not yet covered by existing regulations, the report said.
The pilot will be capped at NAD2 million and made available to 6,000 pre-selected MTC customers for the first month, the report added. MTC plans to roll out the service to its entire customer base of 2.7 million if the pilot is successful, provided they are also users of the MTC Maris wallet.
MTC Maris – which was launched in October 2024 – currently has over 470,000 registered customers.
According to Namibia Business Express, Letshego said that apart from being Maris wallet users, qualified Tamba Maris applicants must be Namibian citizens aged between 18 and 60 and have an active fully KYC’d MTC SIM card for over three months.
