Enda Tamweel, the leading microfinance institution in Tunisia, has launched a loyalty program based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and built on the Hedera network.
The program was developed in partnership with the Swiss non-profit organization The Hashgraph Association, marking one of the first deployments of Hedera DLT in microfinance in Africa and the Middle East.
It rewards clients for timely loan repayments while also recognizing positive environmental and social behaviors. Rather than a traditional points system, it is designed as an impact-based model. Key transactions are recorded on the Hedera network, ensuring transparency and traceability within the loyalty system, according to Africa Business Communities.
The solution is integrated into Enda Tamweel’s existing systems via APIs, allowing scalable deployment without major infrastructure changes.
$4.2 billion in loans
Enda Tamweel holds 79% of Tunisia’s microfinance market and currently serves more than 544,000 active clients.
Since its creation, it has supported 1.3 million beneficiaries through 5.6 million loans, with a total disbursed value of $4.2 billion.
The institution was seeking a loyalty solution aligned with its financial inclusion mission, prioritizing women and rural micro-entrepreneurs who remain largely excluded from the formal banking sector.
The Hedera-powered program is expected to attract 120,000 new clients annually through an integrated referral system.
“Sustainable financial inclusion goes beyond access to credit and requires building long-term customer relationships that generate real impact,” said Mohamed Zmandar, CEO of Enda Tamweel.
The microfinance sector in Africa is experiencing strong growth, with the market expected to exceed $300 billion by 2026. For The Hashgraph Association, Enda Tamweel’s deployment is part of a broader effort to expand Web3 infrastructure across Africa and the MENA region.
“Simple and reliable solutions”
Kamal Youssefi, President of The Hashgraph Association, said the partnership demonstrates that DLT-based loyalty solutions can be designed to be simple and reliable rather than opaque, and that the model can be replicated across other sectors in the continent.
Mohamed Zmandar described the program as a core part of the institution’s long-term vision, saying it embeds transparency at the heart of customer relationships and strengthens microfinance as a driver of inclusive and sustainable growth.
The Hedera DLT infrastructure underpins the program’s core value proposition: enabling behavioral incentives, financial reliability, social engagement and environmental responsibility to be recorded, verified and rewarded with a level of auditability that traditional loyalty systems cannot match.
This deployment adds to a growing number of enterprise-grade Hedera use cases in Africa and reflects increasing interest from African financial institutions in blockchain infrastructure that moves beyond cryptocurrency speculation toward practical, mission-aligned applications.
