Branch International
“Can a smartphone-data-driven microlender become the dominant digital bank for the underbanked across Africa and India?”
Branch launched in 2015 as a smartphone-based microlender for emerging markets, using alternative data from device permissions to underwrite small personal loans starting at $2. After raising $170M in 2019 alongside a Visa partnership, it expanded into a broader neobank model — adding virtual debit cards, savings, money transfers, and bill payment — and obtained a microfinance banking license in Kenya. Today the business is anchored in India (NBFC), Kenya (MFB), Nigeria, and Tanzania, positioning itself as a pan-African/Indian digital bank rather than a pure lender. (Note: distinct from the US-based payouts/wallet company Branch Messenger / branchapp.com.)