Kenya's early adoption of mobile money has enabled a proliferation of lenders to use the same technology to extend credit to the banked and unbanked, saddling borrowers with high interest rates and leaving regulators scrambling to keep up.
| less than a minute read
Kenya Moves to Regulate Fintech-Fueled Lending Craze
Get in touch
.jpg)
Get in touch
As it was for mobile cash, Kenya is something of a test case for the new lending platforms. Several of the companies involved, including U.S. fintech startups, have plans to expand in other frontier markets, meaning Kenya’s regulation will be closely watched. From having had little or no access to credit, many Kenyans now find they can get loans in minutes. George Ombelli, a salesman for a company importing bicycles who also owns a hair salon and cosmetics shop with his wife, has borrowed simultaneously from four providers over the past year. He took small loans from two Silicon Valley-backed U.S. fintech firms, Branch and Tala, to see what rates he would get, as well as from a new mobile app launched by Barclays Kenya in March and a business loan from Kenya's Equity Bank.
Get in touch
Get in touch
