Review of Digital Lending Models for Financial Inclusion: Challenges, Opportunities, and Way Forward

Reaching out to the financially excluded populations in Kenya with responsive financial services has been elusive for a long time. This is however changing through digital lending. Powered by Financial innovations in IT that include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning among others, credit scoring is now possible for populations devoid of the traditional loan appraisal requirements or any form of credit history. This paper provides a review of the digital lending solutions on offer, the challenges and opportunities and a pathway for improved and more inclusive digital lending solutions for increased uptake and use.