Nigerian credit rating company DataPro Limited has put Tingo Mobile on hold.
The company didn’t send in any new information to back up its rating, which led to the decision. Even though doing business in Nigeria is hard, DataPro gave it an “A” for the long run and gave it a positive outlook for 2023 and 2024.
This is because Hindenburg Research said the fintech company lied about its finances and questioned the company’s founder, Dozy Mmobuosi.
DataPro halted Tingo Mobile’s credit rating because the company didn’t explain its recent purchases and financial structure. This is in line with international best practices. DataPro saw that Tingo Mobile didn’t use the schedule, even though they talked to the company to get the information they needed.
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DataPro has been talking to Tingo Mobile for a week about its latest purchases and how its finances are set up. Unfortunately, the Company hasn’t used the schedule to give enough information to keep the Rating they were given. It is a scoring system that is used everywhere.
Tingo Mobile’s credit rating suspension calls into question its financial reliability and investor confidence.
Hindenburg’s Tingo Mobile exposé
DataPro gave Tingo Mobile an “A” long-term grade and a good outlook for 2023 and 2024 when it first looked at the company. Hindenburg Research said that the company’s financial records were “made up” after the ranking. Even though the company denied the story, its shares went down.
According to the claims made by Hindenburg Research, the Group, which says it has businesses in mobile phones, food processing, and an online food market for farmers, mostly in Nigeria, lied about its $1.6 billion food processing plant and misrepresented some of its partnerships and products.
“We have a strong feeling that Tingo’s cash balance, which it says is kept in Nigeria, is not real. Only 12% of the interest that would have been earned on the company’s cash amounts was collected. Overall, we think it’s a waste of time and a bold scam that should be a source of shame for everyone involved. We don’t think the company will last very long.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) could not verify Tingo Mobile’s 12 million mobile clients. The company’s website and presentations included stock photographs of farmers using cell phones.
Tingo Pay, its fintech billed as a “seamless payment system,” is likewise unclear. It didn’t have a bank partnership when it began in 2021, for instance. “I have not concluded any agreement with Tingo International in respect of any payment system whatsoever,” said the anonymous bank.
