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Story by, Paul Mensah Nsor
Adehyeman Savings & Loans has partnered with MTN MobileMoney Fintech Limited (MMFL) and Loop DFS Ghana to launch MiSika, a 30‑day short‑term working‑capital loan product aimed at merchants and traders who transact on mobile money rails.
Introduced during a product briefing by Joe Emmim, Managing Director of Adehyeman Savings & Loans, MiSika leverages real‑time mobile money transaction data to underwrite small, fast loans for informal and formal businesses across Ghana. The collaboration combines Adehyeman’s regulated lending capacity, MTN MMFL’s digital infrastructure and customer reach, and Loop DFS’s analytics and underwriting platform.
“MiSika brings together three capabilities with one engine: capital and risk management, digital rails and customer access, and a technology underwriting engine,” Emmim said during the session. According to the presentation, Adehyeman will hold the balance sheet, manage credit risk, and ensure compliance and sustainable lending practices. MTN MMFL will provide transaction data, onboarding and digital channels for disbursement and repayment, while Loop DFS will process transaction feeds, apply analytics and rules, and generate risk and capacity assessments.
Joe Emmim described MiSika as a closed‑loop system in which mobile money transaction data flows into Loop DFS’s analytics engine to produce credit signals, which Adehyeman then uses to make lending decisions. That lending activity in turn generates additional transaction data, improving future credit models and decisioning.
The product is positioned to serve a broad range of enterprises. At the base, MiSika is intended to bring very small, previously informal businesses into the formal credit system by using their digital transaction history as evidence of business activity and repayment capacity. For growing SMEs, the product aims to provide flexible working‑capital lines that scale with transaction volume. Larger enterprises could integrate the MiSika analytics into broader cash management and financing strategies.
He emphasized financial inclusion alongside prudent risk controls. Adehyeman’s role as the regulated lender was highlighted as central to ensuring that loan growth is sustainable and compliant with regulatory standards. MTN’s digital footprint — serving tens of thousands of merchants daily — supplies the behavioral data that underpins the product’s underwriting approach.
MiSika loan represents another example of fintech partnerships that use alternative data to expand credit access to underserved micro, small and medium enterprises. By tying credit to digital transaction histories, the partners expect to accelerate onboarding and decisioning while reducing reliance on traditional collateral. If scaled successfully, the model could deepen financial inclusion across Ghana and offer a blueprint for similar digital‑credit initiatives in other markets.
The partners did not disclose pricing, eligibility thresholds, or rollout timelines in detail during the briefing. Further information, including customer enrollment procedures and terms, is expected to be released as the product is rolled out to merchants.
According to Emmim, Musika has two goals. First, financial inclusion: to bring informal or thinly documented businesses into the formal credit system by using their digital activity as proof of revenue.
Second, deeper finance: to offer established SMEs more flexible working capital that adjusts to their transaction volumes.
“Whether it’s a micro retailer getting a first modest facility, an SME accessing a working capital line that moves with transaction volume, or a larger firm integrating Musika-style analytics into cash management, the philosophy is the same,” he said. “If you are doing real business on the mobile money rails, Musika will ensure that activity is recognised and supported.”
Emmim called the platform “a prototype for the future of credit” in Ghana, noting that “no single institution can do this alone at scale.”
Misika is now entering its rollout phase with partner businesses across the MMFL ecosystem.
