South African fintech company Notto is tackling one of Africa’s most persistent economic challenges: the estimated $300 billion financing gap that leaves millions of creditworthy individuals and businesses locked out of the formal financial system. Founded by Dalumuzi Mhlanga, Notto is using alternative data to make informal economic activity visible to lenders, thereby unlocking access to credit for those who have historically been invisible to traditional banks.
The company’s approach is built on the recognition that millions of Africans conduct their financial lives outside the formal banking sector, relying instead on mobile money, cash transactions, and informal credit arrangements. Notto uses alternative data sources, including mobile money transaction histories, bill payment records, and spending patterns, to build credit scores that go far beyond traditional banking records.
To date, Notto has analysed more than one billion transaction records, built credit scores for over eight million consumers, and generated assessments for more than five million mobile money users across South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The company says its methodology has increased credit approvals, reduced default rates, and expanded financial inclusion, all while maintaining strong regulatory compliance and consumer data protection standards.
“Traditional credit scoring was designed for a world where everyone had a bank account and a credit history,” Mhlanga said. “But in Africa, that’s not the reality for most people. Our job is to find the signals of creditworthiness that exist in the informal economy and translate them into a language that lenders can understand.”
The impact of Notto’s work is potentially transformative. By bringing millions of previously invisible consumers into the formal credit system, the company is not only expanding access to finance but also stimulating economic activity, supporting small businesses, and fostering financial resilience. For lenders, Notto’s credit assessments open up a vast new market of potential customers who have been overlooked for too long.
Notto’s success has attracted attention from investors, development finance institutions, and policymakers across the continent. As Africa continues its digital transformation, the company’s model offers a blueprint for how technology can be harnessed to solve deep-seated structural problems.
For Mhlanga and his team, the mission is far from complete. With hundreds of millions of Africans still outside the formal financial system, the opportunity, and the responsibility, is immense. Notto’s work is a reminder that financial inclusion is not just about technology; it is about recognising the economic value of every individual, regardless of whether they have a bank statement to prove it.
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