The Zambian economy is experiencing a mixed recovery as it exits the post-pandemic environment and adapts to the “new normal.” Several external headwinds, such as impacts from global conflicts, continue to pose a challenge to progress. In this session, Prof Saasa unpacks his perspective on the state of the nation and shares his thoughts on: Zambia’s economic recovery; what to look out for after the recent IMF deal agreement and new National Development Plan; and how the private sector can help accelerate the pace of recovery.

Right now, local, regional and global inflation figure very prominently, as do continuing environmental impacts of the climate crisis, conflicts abroad and rise in geopolitical tensions. As such, consumers find themselves facing heightened uncertainty around job security and increased strain on disposable income.

In this session, we reveal ways in which consumers are responding — some predictable and others less so. We unpack how behavioural changes reflect a new set of priorities across the lending landscape. We also examine how lenders are responding to the shift toward short-term, revolving and small- amount loans to address immediate cost of living expenses.

For the purpose of economic growth, it is critical for lenders to focus on credit disadvantaged consumers. By accessing credit products and services, consumers can better manage their daily and unforeseen financial needs. Credit inclusion allows economic advancement and upward mobility opportunities for consumers looking to buy their first vehicle or first home or to fund higher education and so on. Credit awareness, education and better access allows consumers to build and improve their credit profiles and remain actively engaged in the credit system. Lenders striving for high growth targets to cope with the negative pandemic impact can focus on these niche target segments, especially by identifying and serving an existing portfolio of underserved consumers. The rising inflationary pressures present an opportunity for lenders to provide more liquidity for risk-eligible credit underserved consumers. However, concerns around credit performance for consumers with no or little credit activity can inhibit lenders from actively pursuing this segment of consumers. To enable credit inclusion for consumers across developed and developing markets, TransUnion conducted a study to better understand the sizing, distinguished behaviours and specific needs of credit underserved consumers, both before and during the pandemic. In this session, we will reveal those insights.

With traditional, risk-based models effectively ruling credit-seekers, the inclusion of alternative data becomes critical to extending credit-based opportunities to productive adults who may lack credit histories.

In this session we’ll look at the availability and reliability of alternative, non-credit-based data as a valid and verifiable source of insight into the historic and predictive financial behaviours of underserved and underbanked members of the population. We’ll also unpack how quickly and positively this cohort responds to credit opportunities in terms of future business growth opportunities for lenders.