What Black Swan does

Black Swan (legally BSAi Global Limited) is a B2B credit infrastructure technology provider headquartered in Ebene, Mauritius with a regional office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The company enables financial institutions — primarily banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), fintechs, and telecommunications companies — to assess borrower creditworthiness using alternative data sources including mobile money transactions, bank statements, utility records, and merchant activity, rather than relying on traditional payslips or formal credit bureau data. Its platform is engineered specifically for informal and under-banked African economies, where the majority of income earners lack formal credit histories.

The platform is organized around three core technology capabilities: Tausi (credit decisioning and intelligence engine that reads 90 days of income and spending patterns and issues decisions in under two minutes), Manka (affordability and open finance layer that enables borrower-consented data sharing across institutions), and Kopa Gari (a dedicated credit sub-brand for productive asset financing such as phones, vehicles, and equipment). These capabilities power five product areas: unsecured digital lending, embedded credit, BNPL, device/vehicle/asset financing, and working capital for MSMEs. The ML stack is documented as combining six logistic regression and twelve support vector machine models trained on transactional and loan performance data for informal merchants, with two peer-reviewed publications in Springer Nature (2024 conference proceedings, 2025 journal article).

Revenue is generated through B2B technology licensing, API access, and platform services to financial institutions, with quote-based enterprise engagement rather than publicly disclosed pricing. Distribution occurs via direct enterprise sales, OEM/embedded white-label integration within partner ecosystems (telcos, banks, digital platforms), and a channel partner network. The company is supported by a coalition of donors and development-finance partners including Funguo, UNDP, COSTECH, develoPPP, the European Union, UK Aid, Suomi Finland, and the Tanzania Government, alongside a $50,000 grant from MEST Africa/ABSA in 2025. No private equity or venture capital equity rounds have been disclosed in the available sources.

Name

Black Swan

Legal name

BSAi Global Limited

Website

https://bsa.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Black Swan (BSAi Global Limited) is a B2B credit infrastructure technology provider enabling African banks, MFIs, fintechs, and telcos to underwrite borrowers using alternative data (mobile money, utility, and transaction records) via its Tausi decisioning engine, Manka open-finance platform, and Kopa Gari asset-financing sub-brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Credit Infrastructure Technology

NAICS

Nondepository Credit Intermediation (5222), Sales Financing (52222), Credit Bureaus (561450)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

SME Credit Risk, Underwriting & Financial Data (B2B Fintech Data/Decisioning) (FSAGAJAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

B2B / Invoice-Based BNPL (Trade Credit at Checkout) (FSAGAIAC), Invoicing, Billing & Accounts Receivable Automation (FSAGAJAC), B2B BNPL (Invoice Split/Net Terms for SMB Procurement) (FSAKACAJ), Risk, Compliance & Controls for Embedded Finance (KYB/KYC/AML, Fraud, Disputes) (FSAGALAK)

Keywords

• Credit decisioning infrastructure
• Alternative credit scoring
• Embedded lending technology
• Open finance platform
• Asset financing technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Dar Es Salaam

HQ country

Tanzania

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Technology Infrastructure Services: Black Swan operates as a B2B technology infrastructure provider enabling partner financial institutions to assess creditworthiness, manage lending operations, and deliver financial products. Revenue is generated through technology licensing, API access, and platform services to banks, MFIs, fintechs, and other lending institutions.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Black Swan (BSAi Global Limited) provides B2B credit infrastructure technology that enables financial institutions across Africa to assess borrower creditworthiness using alternative data sources such as mobile money transactions, bank statements, utility records, and merchant activity. The platform combines three core technology capabilities — Tausi (credit decisioning engine), Manka (open finance and affordability assessment), and Kopa Gari (productive asset lending) — with five product areas covering unsecured digital lending, embedded credit, BNPL, device/vehicle financing, and MSME working capital. Black Swan sells its technology via licensing, API, and embedded white-label deployment to banks, MFIs, fintechs, telcos, and retailers across Africa.

Product overview

Black Swan (BSAi Global Limited) operates as a B2B credit infrastructure technology platform for financial institutions across Africa. The platform combines five product areas—unsecured digital lending, embedded credit, BNPL, device/vehicle financing, and MSME working capital—into one unified system built on real income data verification. The architecture centers on three core technology capabilities: Tausi (decisioning and credit intelligence), Manka (affordability and open finance), and Mtaa wa Manka (credit discovery and matching), with Kopa Gari serving as a dedicated sub-brand for productive asset lending. All products leverage live transaction data, mobile money records, and alternative financial data to assess repayment capacity for borrowers without traditional credit histories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Manka: Affordability and open finance platform allowing borrowers to safely share their financial activity across institutions with consent
• Kopa Gari
• Tausi

Products and services

• Tausi Decisioning and credit intelligence platform that helps financial institutions understand how people earn, spend, and repay, enabling faster and more accurate credit decisions using alternative data sources such as mobile money, bank transactions, and utility records. Reads 90 days of income and spending patterns to determine repayment capacity, with decisions in under two minutes.
• Manka Affordability and open finance platform enabling borrowers to safely share their financial activity across institutions with consent, so lenders can assess affordability using real income and spending data. Targeted at credit officers and financial institutions performing financial statement analysis.
• Kopa Gari Dedicated credit brand for productive asset lending, offering device, vehicle, and asset financing. Powers asset-backed financing for phones, vehicles, and productive equipment with income verification against live cashflow data to ensure sustainable repayment schedules.
• Mtaa wa Manka Credit discovery and matching platform that connects people to appropriate lenders for real needs such as phones, vehicles, and equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Credit decisions in under 2 minutes with funds directly to mobile wallet
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SelcomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelcom is a key strategic partner where Black Swan helps design and scale digital credit with expertise in credit-risk scoring, risk management, and product delivery. Selcom offers Selcom Bank and digital financial services.
• Kopa GaricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKopa Gari is Black Swan's dedicated credit brand for productive asset lending (vehicles, phones, equipment). It is a subsidiary/sister brand using Black Swan's infrastructure for device, vehicle, and asset financing.
• MankacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManka is Black Swan's open finance and affordability platform that allows borrowers to safely share financial activity across institutions with consent, enabling lenders to assess affordability using real income and spending data.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lipa Later: Lipa Later is a BNPL platform in East Africa focused on retail and e-commerce installments, using alternative data for approvals. Directly comparable to Black Swan's BNPL product with affordability-based underwriting.
• Branch International: Branch provides digital lending to consumers and SMBs across Africa, India, and Mexico using smartphone-based alternative data. Closely comparable to Black Swan's unsecured digital lending and ML credit-scoring approach.
• Tala: Tala provides alternative-data credit scoring and digital lending to underbanked consumers in emerging markets (Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia). Directly comparable to Black Swan's Tausi engine for thin-file underwriting using mobile and transactional signals.
• Pezesha: Pezesha operates a B2B credit marketplace connecting African lenders and borrowers with embedded scoring and BNPL infrastructure. Comparable to Black Swan's lender-matching ("Mtaa wa Manka") and embedded credit rails.
• Creditinfo: Creditinfo is a global credit bureau and data analytics provider operating across multiple African markets. Directly comparable to Black Swan's Tausi decisioning layer; also listed as a customer/partner in the data provided.
• M-Kopa: M-Kopa offers pay-as-you-go asset financing (solar, smartphones, motorbikes) across East Africa using mobile money transaction data for underwriting. Highly comparable to Black Swan's Kopa Gari asset-financing product and alternative-data decisioning model.

Emerging players

• Lendable: Lendable funds African fintech lenders and offers debt capital plus credit-infrastructure tooling. Overlaps with Black Swan's role as a credit-infrastructure provider serving African fintechs and MFIs.
• Smile Identity: Smile Identity provides KYC, biometric verification and fraud tools for African fintechs. Adjacent to Black Swan's affordability/identity data layer (Manka) supporting credit decisioning.

Broad incumbents

• TransUnion Africa: TransUnion provides consumer credit reporting, scoring, and decisioning across African markets. Broad incumbent offering overlapping credit-data capabilities to Black Swan's target customer segments.
• Experian Africa: Experian operates credit bureaus and decisioning platforms across Africa. A broad incumbent competing with Black Swan's alternative-data Tausi engine in the same end market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/black-swan-ai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Black Swan