Can Africa Catch A Strangely Yet-Unloved Buy-Now-Pay-Later Fever?

When Martin Akwanga, 26, got bored of graphics design which he had done on a freelance basis for the past 3 years and decided to make a big switch to software development, he figured he needed a brand new PC. That’s because he wanted to be able to learn efficiently while also doing some design gigs on the side - up until when he doesn’t have to do make graphics stuff anymore.

His old, battered, and hand-me-down Dell Inspiron had clearly seen better days and Akwanga had identified a choice replacement: HP Pavilion 15. There was just one problem: it was going to cost him an arm and a leg.

At a market price of over NGN 300 K (~USD 730), Akwanga would have to shell out a lump sum that would erode most of the cash in his bank account to be able to buy the HP laptop, and that’s after years of painstakingly saving.

So, when a close friend hinted at a ‘less painful option which entailed taking possession of the device while paying for it in small instalments, it was bewildering that ...