Case Study: Satellite Credit Scoring — 44 Farmers Scored From Space
Farmers: All 44 COJAZ members
Technology: Sentinel-2 satellite, MBC credit scoring algorithm
Blockchain: Blocks #46-52
The Challenge
95% of Mozambican farmers are unbanked. No credit history. No bank statement. No collateral. Traditional banks cannot lend to them. Without a credit score, no investor will fund them.
The Solution
MBC scores farmers using 6 alternative data sources:
- Satellite NDVI (30% weight) — Sentinel-2 satellite measures crop health from space. Zambézia NDVI: 0.78 (highest in Mozambique). Healthy crops = reliable farmer.
- Mobile Money Activity (15% weight) — M-Pesa transaction patterns reveal payment behavior.
- Weather & Climate Risk (15% weight) — Open-Meteo API provides 30-day rainfall vs historical average. Zambézia: 27mm rain, 80/100 weather score.
- Farm Profile (15% weight) — Farm size (11.4 hectares average), years farming, cooperative membership.
- Repayment History (15% weight) — Track record of loan repayments.
- Community Verification (10% weight) — Verified by field agent (Anselmo Boaventura), cooperative membership.
The Data
- Farmers scored: 44 (4 via live calculation, 40 via batch)
- Average credit score: 526/850 (Grade D — new, unverified)
- Verified members: 608/850 (Grade C)
- NDVI: 0.78 (healthy crops confirmed from space)
- Weather score: 80/100 (good rainfall)
- Processing time: 3.7 seconds per farmer
- Cost per score: $0
- Bank account required: NO
Key Lesson
A satellite 786 km in space knows more about a farmer's creditworthiness than any bank in Maputo. When crops are healthy (NDVI 0.78), the farmer is reliable. No bank statement needed.
