Access to affordable financing remains one of the biggest obstacles for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Africa. In Uganda, many entrepreneurs struggle to secure traditional loans due to strict collateral requirements and lengthy processes. A new partnership between Pesapal and Pezesha aims to transform this landscape by embedding digital credit directly into existing payment platforms.
Addressing the SME Financing Gap
For many shop owners in Kampala and beyond, a lack of working capital often restricts their ability to scale. Traditional banks typically demand collateral or impose conditions that small businesses cannot meet. By leveraging fintech innovation, Pesapal and Pezesha are creating an alternative route that is flexible, accessible, and built around merchants’ actual business performance.
How the Partnership Works
Pesapal, a leading payments platform in East Africa, is integrating Pezesha’s proprietary credit-scoring tool, Patascore, into its system. This allows merchants who already use Pesapal for daily transactions to access financing without leaving the platform. Instead of relying on physical assets, Patascore evaluates sales history, payment activity, and turnover to generate credit scores that determine loan eligibility.
A Data-Driven Credit Approach
The foundation of this collaboration lies in data. By analyzing transaction records such as sales volumes, seasonal patterns, and repayment behavior, the system builds a real-time financial profile for each merchant. This data-first model ensures that credit is fair, transparent, and directly aligned with a business’s performance, reducing the risks often associated with collateral-free loans.
Voices from the Partnership
Martin Barungi, Country Director of Pesapal Uganda, highlighted the initiative’s broader vision. “We are excited to partner with Pezesha to bring this innovative credit solution to our merchants in Uganda. By embedding credit directly into our payments platform, we are empowering merchants to unlock new opportunities and strengthen their businesses,” he said. His statement underscores Pesapal’s commitment to embedding value-added services into its ecosystem.
On the Pezesha side, Operations Manager Jessica Valerie Tusiime emphasized the mission-driven approach. “At Pezesha, our mission is to close the financing gap for SMEs across Africa. Partnering with Pesapal allows us to reach thousands of merchants with affordable and responsible credit, enabling them to build resilience and thrive in today’s competitive market,” she explained. The sentiment reflects Pezesha’s ongoing role as a champion of SME financial inclusion across the region.
Implications for Uganda’s Small Business Sector
The introduction of embedded credit solutions is particularly significant in Uganda, where SMEs form the backbone of the economy but often lack the resources to secure bank financing. With this partnership, entrepreneurs gain access to loans that align with their daily realities and cash flows. The result is not just financial support but also a framework that encourages sustainable growth and resilience in the face of economic pressures.
Broader Regional Context
Uganda’s fintech ecosystem has been expanding rapidly, driven by increasing mobile money penetration and innovative startups targeting underserved populations. The collaboration between Pesapal and Pezesha demonstrates how regional fintech players can design solutions rooted in local contexts. If successful, this model could be replicated in other markets where SMEs face similar challenges in accessing affordable credit.
The partnership between Pesapal and Pezesha marks an important milestone in bridging the financing gap for Ugandan SMEs. By shifting the focus from collateral to transaction-based data, the initiative empowers small businesses to access capital that truly reflects their operational performance. As more African fintechs embrace such data-driven models, the hope is that entrepreneurs across the continent will gain the financial tools needed to grow, compete, and thrive.