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Underwriting a trader who has no credit score — with the data they already generate

A look inside how Sankofa turns mobile-money and trade history into an explainable risk score, and why every score comes with its reasons.

Ama Boateng, Head of Credit · 30 July 2026 · 7 min read

A first-time applicant hands us no credit bureau file, no balance sheet. What they do have — with consent — is months of mobile-money activity and the documents from their current trade. That is enough to underwrite responsibly, if you do it carefully.

From raw flow to a score

We derive features from the cash flow: inflow stability, balance trends, counterparty concentration, seasonality, and how consistently obligations are met. Those features feed a model that outputs a score from 0 to 1000 and a risk tier — the tier that then sets the transparent financing-fee band.

No black boxes

Every score ships with its contributing factors — which pushed risk up, which pushed it down, and a plain-language reason. Traders can see why, and our credit team can defend every decision.

Limits start conservative and grow with a clean repayment record. The model learns the corridor, the trader learns the product, and trust compounds on both sides.

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