Digital lending expands across Africa practice responsible borrowing — MML CEO cautions

By Christabel DANSO ABEAM

The Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Money Limited (MML), Haruna Shaibu, has urged consumers to practice responsible borrowing as digital lending continues to expand rapidly across Ghana and the wider African continent.

In an interview after the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra, Mr. Shaibu said the growth of digital lending platforms has significantly improved access to credit, particularly for first-time borrowers, but has also heightened the need for stronger consumer protection measures and financial discipline.

“Digital lending in Ghana and across Africa is expanding. We’ve created access to credit to first-time borrowers and that access, I think, we’re achieving at a very high scale currently,” he said.

However, the MML CEO suggest that the increasing scale of digital credit services makes it necessary for policymakers, lenders and customers to collectively ensure responsible borrowing and lending practices.

“This is a forum where we’re discussing consumer protection as it relates to digital lending,” he noted.

Mr. Shaibu also stressed that lenders have a responsibility to ensure transparency in pricing and product design so customers clearly understand the true cost of loans before borrowing.

He added that customers should also be given opportunities to compare different loan products and make informed decisions before taking credit facilities.

The MML CEO further emphasised that borrowers also have an obligation to repay loans and use funds productively.

“Borrowing is good, but you have to borrow and utilise the fund for productive use,” he stated.

He explained that when borrowers default, lenders are forced to price that risk into their services, ultimately making loans more expensive for everyone.

“If you borrow and default, service providers will add the risk of your default into pricing and that makes borrowing expensive for everyone in society,” he explained.

Responding to concerns about loan defaults, Mr. Shaibu disclosed that most customers on MTN’s lending platforms honour their repayment obligations and that non-performing loan ratios continue to improve year-on-year.

He attributed the improvement to the use of artificial intelligence, data mining and enhanced customer scoring systems which help operators better assess credit risk.

As part of efforts to strengthen repayment culture, Mr. Shaibu revealed that MML has launched a “Responsible Borrowing Campaign” aimed at educating customers on the importance of repaying loans.

“We’ve actually started a campaign which we call Responsible Borrowing Campaign, which is basically trying to connect with our customers to educate them about the need for paying,” he said.

The discussions formed part of broader engagements at the 3i Africa Summit 2026, which brought together regulators, telecom operators, fintech companies, banks and investors to deliberate on digital finance, innovation and financial inclusion across Africa.

The 3i Africa Summit — meaning Inspire, Innovate and Integrate — was initiated through a partnership led by the Bank of Ghana and the Development Bank Ghana to position Ghana as a leading hub for fintech and digital financial services on the continent. Since its launch, the summit has served as a platform for dialogue on financial technology innovation, responsible digital finance and cross-border financial integration in Africa.

The post Digital lending expands across Africa practice responsible borrowing — MML CEO cautions appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story