With its application to secure licence now awaiting approval by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), Seed Jamaica has its hopes set on being given the green light to operate as a microfinancial institution as early as year end.

This, as the newly formed start-up pushes to deliver on a mandate of providing financial freedom to a large cross section of unbanked/under-banked or “financially new” clients locally.

“We sent our application in months ago and we remain in dialogue with the regulator. While we do not know when we will become approved, we’re really hoping for a Christmas miracle, so that going into December or as early as possible we can start giving out loans to people.

“We also plan to expand once we get approval, so we are really anxiously just waiting now,” said Adrian Dunkley, co-founder and chief risk and intelligence officer for the company, speaking with the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

Dunkley, a seasoned finance, communication and tech expert partnering with Andrew Patterson and Michael Lee Chin Jr, son of Jamaican-Canadian billionaire and chairman of the NCB Financial Group Michael Lee Chin, earlier this year launched the company with an aim to target and meet the needs of mainly underserved customers in the financial sector, promising aside from more attractive interest rates, better customer service engagement.

Kick-starting its presence in the market with a new giveaway campaign through which it is seeking to issue over $50,000 in grants to approximately eight lucky customers in different cycles, the company has indicated that it is intending to plant the seed of financial freedom for potential clients needing funds to undertake various Christmas expenditure activities.

“In giving out these grants, we believe that profitability has to come with economic growth for other people,” Dunkley said.

The start-up, which will first operate as a microcredit institution, is hoping to later transition into a full-fledge digital bank, offering a wide range of services while adding more options for banking and making available easier channels to access credit for locals.

“We are a fully digital lending agency, allowing customers to do everything from their devices and getting them access to funds as quickly as possible,” Dunkley said, noting that while there were still some risk mitigation and know your customer (KYC) requirements to navigate, customers will still be able to gain approval in record time as they borrow from a large pool of universal loans, which at the moment are capped at just a little under $200,000.

The company is fully funded by Lee-Chin Jr who operates as the chief executive officer (CEO), and as the chief financial backer is throwing undisclosed millions behind the venture.

“We are set with capital and we have enough funds to manage all the operational requirements of the company,” Dunkley further told the Business Observer, though shying away from divulging information on the actual level of investment being pumped into the business.

“We are fund-raising as well so we are also looking for additional investments. Now awaiting approval from the BOJ, this has been delayed, but will continue as part of the plan as we expand out,” he added.

Anticipating significant uptake of it services, Dunkley, citing the delivery of first-class customer service, said this is to be one of the main differentiator that will set its business apart from other players in the market.

“I’ve been in finance over a decade, across commercial and development banks, investment firms and so on…so I have a very good understanding of the market and what people need and right now in Jamaica—not just in the financial sector— people just do not get good customer service consistently.

“Our aim therefore is not just to be seen as a bank, but as a financial club in which our customers can learn and grow. It’s not just about taking money, we are going to teach clients how to manage their finances better while giving them opportunities and options to also become incentivised. Our business won’t just be about products but we will also be heavily focused on people,” Dunkley shared.

“We are taking an initial hit financially in everything that we’ve done, but we know it’s going to work in the medium to long term and our growth is going to be exponential because of the approach we are taking,” he said to the Business Observer.