‘Silicon Savannah’ Kenya targets loan apps abusing customer data


Bigingi shows text messages sent to him by digital lender Ipesa in Nairobi, Kenya. — Thomson Reuters Foundation

NAIROBI: The 14 days given to John Bigingi to repay a loan of 8,200 Kenyan Shillings (RM302) had barely lapsed when he started receiving text messages threatening to call the contacts on his phone and expose him as a defaulter.

“Silence means you don’t want to pay your loan which is already due,” said an SMS message sent by digital lender iPesa to Bigingi and shown to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

RM 11.12/month

Billed as RM 11.12 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 9.87/month

Billed as RM 118.40 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Tech News

Maker of Canvas learning platform strikes deal for hackers to return data
Germany's finance watchdog to make targeted inspections amid 'substantial' AI risks
EU targets social media to protect children, von der Leyen says
Meta loses court fight over compensation to Italian publishers
The AI wars are having a surprising cybersecurity benefit. Here’s how
Panasonic eyes aggressive AI profit push, battery unit misses target
Texas lawsuit accuses Netflix of illegal data collection
India's IT index falls to three-year low on weak earnings outlook, demand worries
Xbox is getting rid of its AI chatbot. Users don’t seem to mind
Europe exports spyware to human rights abusers, watchdog says

Others Also Read