Data from the Bank of Tanzania reveals that between 2018 and 2022, loans totaling Sh. 50.3 trillion were issued to individuals through banks. In contrast, mobile networks provided approximately Sh. 602 billion via mobile financial services.

While bank loans were extended to 2.4 million individuals, around 3.5 million people benefited from loans facilitated by mobile networks. The majority of these beneficiaries were men. For banks, 1,649,570 million individuals were men, while 814,075 were women. Concerning mobile networks, 2,233,244 beneficiaries were men, and 1,328,432 were women.

Mobile networks have demonstrated their ability to introduce fresh financial opportunities. Since 2018, the number of loans offered by mobile networks has surged by 8706 percent, with the count of loan recipients increasing by 5055 percent. This growth can be attributed to the introduction of novel borrowing products by mobile networks. However, the overall loan amount remains relatively low.

Several mobile networks have already begun offering substantial credit services, starting with their financial service providers such as agents, among others. Could the credit sector of mobile networks lead to a more significant revolution in the future?