Day 11 – Functions | Reusable Loan Calculator for Nigerian SMEs

Source: Dev.to

🌍 Problem Background (Nigerian / African Context)

Many Nigerian SMEs:

• Borrow from microfinance banks or cooperative societies
• Need to calculate loan repayments with interest
• Often rely on manual calculations using paper, calculators, or Excel

🇳🇬

❌ Challenges with Manual Calculation

• Errors in principal or interest
• Delays in repayment planning
• Confusion when managing multiple loans

❗ The Real-World Problem

Business owners often lack:

• A simple, reusable tool for loan calculations
• The ability to simulate repayment scenarios quickly
• An easy way to track multiple loans

👥 Who This Project Helps

• SME owners & market traders
• Microfinance bank officers
• Cooperative societies
• Nigerian startups supporting SMEs

🌱 Why This Problem Matters in Africa

• SMEs are the backbone of Africa’s economy
• Accurate repayment planning reduces loan defaults
• Simple Python tools improve financial literacy and confidence

🧠 Python Concepts & Tools Used (Day 11 Focus)

• Function creation (def)
• Parameters & arguments
• Return values (return)
• Optional arguments & defaults
• Docstrings for documentation
• Reusability & clean code

⚙️ Core Features

• Input loan principal, interest rate, and duration
• Calculate monthly repayment
• Calculate total repayment
• Support multiple loan simulations
• Print clean, formatted results