Leading ride-hailing company in Nigeria, Bolt, is now offering short-term loans to drivers on its platform. This was disclosed in a statement by a company spokesperson in Nigeria. The development, carried out in partnership with credit technology company, Advancly, aims to support drivers’ financial needs, enabling them to receive up-front earnings and boost their productivity.
The loan scheme would be launched to drivers in Lagos and Abuja in beta. According to Advancly Country Manager for Nigeria, Lolia Kienka, the strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone in providing healthy financial options to people who work within the gig economy, underscoring both companies’ dedication to empowering people to take control of their finances, on their terms.
“We are thrilled to embark on this journey with Bolt Nigeria and bring our innovative credit solutions to their extensive network of drivers. The gig economy is playing a vital role in shaping the future of business for independent workers and this partnership reaffirms our commitment to enable entrepreneurs grow on their own terms by providing them with access to credit,” Kienka said.
More details on the Bolt/Advancly loan partnership
Through this partnership, Bolt hopes that drivers who earn consistently on its platform will have seamless access to Advancly’s credit solutions via an integration. This integration will streamline the borrowing process for drivers, offering a hassle-free experience and access to low-interest, short-term loans to cover pressing expenses such as fuelling and maintaining their cars. This would ultimately empower them to enhance their services and grow their income.
Responding to queries by Technext on whether the loan option is open for just about any driver and what qualifies a driver for the loan, a Bolt spokesperson said drivers have to be on one of several reward levels to be eligible. The reward levels include either the Silver, Gold or Platinum reward levels. The higher a driver’s level, the higher the amount of money they can apply to borrow via the scheme.
The spokesperson also noted that drivers can see their reward level in the rewards section of the driver app. The rewards are awarded based on the number of rides a driver is able to complete in a given month. The higher the number of rides completed in a month, the higher their reward level for the next month.
The spokesperson further explained that the finished rides targets for each of these levels change every month which means it is difficult to note the definite amount of rides that must be completed until the start of the month. However, drivers can see the ride target of each level in the rewards section at the start of every month.
Meeting the target set for a level for a particular month automatically earns them the benefits in the month after it.
Speaking about the repayment conditions and how the platform would get back its money, the spokesperson noted that the loans are generally short-term. As such, the repayment period for fuel credit loans is one week. He however noted that the period is longer for vehicle repair loans as they are considered longer-term needs. As such, repayment terms are longer although drivers could be required to pay weekly instalments.
Country Manager at Bolt Nigeria, Yahaya Mohammed, said the scheme is overall targeted at helping drivers get extra resources with which to manage their finances.
“We recognize the vital role that financial stability plays in the lives of our drivers. In addition to our platform, we are excited to offer them additional resources that will help them manage their finances, provide exceptional services to riders and ultimately grow their businesses with Bolt,” he said.
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