Aella collaborated with Google Cloud partner Codematic to enhance its new technology platform. Working closely both in person and remotely, the collaboration was hands-on from the start. "Now that it had a microfinance banking licence, Aella needed a technical partner to help take its infrastructure to the next level," says Derek Vinebo, Head of Operations at Codematic. "With Codematic, the bank identified the key priorities of reducing costs and stabilizing the IT platform."

Moving to a new infrastructure while catering to the needs of two million customers could have been a daunting task, but Aella and Codematic approached the challenge with meticulous planning. By migrating in stages, the team was able to quickly course correct when it needed to and, most importantly, minimize disruption for its customers.

"We spent a lot of time thinking about what services to prioritize and how to migrate them to make the process as seamless as possible," says Oluwatobi Akintunlese, Senior Software Engineer at Codematic. 

Because Aella's previous infrastructure was already built around Kubernetes clusters, the move to Google Cloud did not require a costly and difficult redesign. Instead, the bank now uses Google Kubernetes Engine to orchestrate its clusters and Cloud Run to manage its staging environments.

Cloud SQL has given Aella new levels of visibility into its database operations, making it easier to monitor and optimize performance. Meanwhile, BigQuery has equipped the data team with a powerful set of analytics tools. 

Traffic spikes had been a challenge with the legacy platform. By using the Observability suite, including Cloud Logging and Cloud Trace, Aella built a series of alerts that help the team quickly pinpoint and resolve issues.

"The visibility we get from Cloud SQL, as well as Cloud Logging and Cloud Trace has really helped us to improve our services and applications," says Olanegan. "The great thing about Google Cloud is how integrated all the tools are. It's very easy to quickly observe the entire environment."

With Google Cloud, Aella has pioneered a "Debt-as-a-Service" (DaaS) model to further its mission of financial inclusion. By exposing services such as digital wallet, Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols, employee loans, same-day lending, and merchant business payment tools through API, Aella enables local businesses and agents to become financial service providers themselves, empowering both individuals and entire communities.

A key pillar of success for these services has been the stability of Google Cloud. "We recently did a project with a government partner that accessed seven million records via API in a single night and we didn't have any downtime," says Uhunamure. "They were shocked we were able to maintain that level of service."

Since acquiring its banking license, Aella has expanded both its customer base and its service offering in creative and impactful ways. But the company is not resting on its laurels. After making its mark in Nigeria, Aella is now looking to take its services into the wider African continent. It has also been experimenting with AI tools such as Gemini and Vertex AI for a broad range of use cases, from fraud detection to anti-money laundering to customer service agents to enhanced operations monitoring. 

"We started as a loans company, but as we've expanded our services, we're also faced with a number of opportunities and challenges," says Uhunamure. "We believe Google Cloud, and the insights we can gain from its AI capabilities, will play a critical role as we continue to deepen and expand our services."