Could your phone history one day help you borrow Rwf100 million? Equity Bank Rwanda Managing Director Hannington Namara told journalists on Thursday evening that it is the direction the bank wants to take with EMMA, Equity’s mobile money app for Africa.
Namara made the remarks during EMMA’s launch, a major and historic milestone in Rwanda’s payments ecosystem. He said Rwandans may soon be able to borrow up to Rwf100 million through the app, with their data used as collateral.
He did not give a launch date for the borrowing feature or explain what data would count, how the bank would value it, or what protections users would have if they fell behind on repayments. For now, the Rwf100 million figure is a promise of what EMMA could offer, not a confirmed loan product available to customers.
The idea would move lending further from the traditional branch experience Namara described. “Gone are the days when you go to the branch and sit and they ask you, ‘Who’s your mother? Who’s your father?’” he said. With EMMA, people should be able to save, send and receive money, borrow and invest from home.
The prospect builds on Equity’s existing shift towards digital lending. In its 2024 integrated report, the bank said all its small and micro loans had been digitised, allowing customers to borrow by phone. The report also said Equity was using artificial intelligence to assist with credit decisions by drawing on multiple data sources. The bank reported more than 1.39 million customers in Rwanda at the end of 2024.
That makes Namara’s Rwf100 million projection both striking and consequential. Data-based lending could help people who lack conventional collateral or a long banking history access credit. But the promise raises practical questions: Which data will be used? How will customers consent to its use? How can errors be challenged? Will borrowers understand the cost and risks before accepting a loan?
Namara described EMMA as a service designed to expand beyond Rwanda into other African markets, but said educating users would be essential. He framed Equity’s ambition as moving beyond financial inclusion to “economic inclusion,” giving people the means to pursue their goals and build wealth.
“EMMA is not a word. It has a human face,” he said, inviting people to welcome the service into their homes. Whether it can deliver on that promise may depend on more than how much users can borrow. It will also depend on whether they can understand and trust the system making decisions about their money and data.
