The financial sector has evolved rapidly over the last couple of years thanks to numerous innovations, particularly blockchain technology. However, major unresolved issues remain, one of which is the problem of the world’s unbanked and underbanked population. Three quarters of the world’s population lack access to credit, a significant number of them in Africa.

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Aella Credit was founded to tackle this problem, focusing on providing instant loans to Africans who can provide proof of income either through an employer or individual resources. The process of getting a loan was intentionally designed to be simple: users need only download the app and follow a simple set of instructions to get a loan within minutes. Aella Credit is currently one of the most downloaded financial apps in Africa’s most populous market, Nigeria, and the company is targeting 1 million active users by the end of 2018.

Recently, Aella Credit decided to take its business to the next level through the use of blockchain technology by partnering with Gluwa, Inc. Gluwa is a startup in San Francisco developing Creditcoin, a decentralized credit network that enables blockchain-based lending transactions.

Both Aella Credit and Gluwa are notable ventures, having been backed by a number of well-regarded Silicon Valley investors, including Y Combinator, VY Capital, Zeno Ventures, 500 Startups, and the CEO of Coinbase. That these two companies with successful track records are teaming up to develop and market Creditcoin represents a unique joint venture opportunity, since it is hard to find companies with existing products or years of experience in this space given the nascent stage of the technology.

Through Creditcoin, Aella Credit and Gluwa aspire to provide ready access to credit in Africa, and ultimately to capitalize on the full potential of blockchain technology to reach all unbanked and underbanked people around the world.