Accessing Finance in Kenya

Most women in Kenya work in the agricultural sector and produce most of the agricultural produce in the country. However, when it comes to accessing credit and other forms of agricultural finance, women’s access drops quickly.

Within the non-agricultural sector of the informal economy, women are also very active in informal cross-border trade, where they are involved in a large volume of the goods traded across borders. Similar to those in the agricultural sector, women in informal cross border trade face several huddles in accessing finance.

Public and private institutions in Kenya have identified women’s challenges in accessing finance and have established various programmes to bridge the gap.
angle-left Women Enterprise Fund

Women Enterprise Fund

About Women Enterprise Fund

Women Enterprise Fund

 

Established in August 2007,Women Enterprise Fund is a Semi-Autonomous Government Agency in the Ministry of Public Service, Youth & Gender Affairs. It provides accessible and affordable credit to support women start and/or expand business for wealth and employment creation.

Loans provided

 

Constituency Women Enterprise Scheme (Tuinuke Loan)

description

This is a loan product at the constituency level or otherwise. It is given out through registered women groups interested in expanding or starting new businesses.

Interest rate

CWES loan is interest-free, with only 5% administrative fee

Collateral

Social guarantee

Grace period

1 month

Duration

12-24 months depending on the cycle

Repayment terms & Ceiling amount

CYCLE      AMOUNT (Ksh)           REPAYMENT PERIOD

1st Cycle            100,000                      12 Months

2nd Cycle            200,000                     12 Months

3rd Cycle            350,000                      12 Months

4th Cycle             500,000                      15 Months

5th Cycle             750,000                      24 Months

Requirements

  • Must be a registered self-help group of 10 members and above comprising 100% women or 70 % women and 30% men.
  • All leadership positions and account signatories must be held by women.
  • Must have an account in a Bank/SACCO FOSA/Post Bank/Deposit Taking Micro-finance (DTM)
  • Must have been in existence for at least 3 months.
  • Groups must be trained in business management skills by the WEF officers as a prerequisite for the loan application

2. LPO Financing

 

Brief description

This is a product tailored to serve women by increasing their capacity to respond and adequately service tenders thus meeting supply requirements. The loan will be available to individual women owning enterprises or women owned companies

Interest rate

A one-off administration fee of 5% of the loan amount

Collateral

Bank guarantee, shares or motor vehicle

Duration

Tenure of 90 days

Repayment terms

Within 90days

Ceiling amount

  • Maximum amount is Ksh 2 Million
  • Amount financed is 60% of the LPO amount

Requirements

  • Company must be registered with the relevant government body
  • For companies, groups and partnerships membership composition must be at least 70% women and 30% men (or 100% women)
  • A valid Local Purchase Order/Local Service Order duly signed and stamped by the procuring entity ie. public institutions (listed in the Public Procurement and Disposal Act)
  • Duly signed Letter of Undertaking and acceptable collateral as per Fund’s Credit Policy.
  • Customer account details
  • Certified copy of the letter by the supplier (loanee) to the procuring entity requesting payment through Women Enterprise Fund

3. Bid Bond Financing

 

Brief description

The Fund has initiated the tender security/bid bond product to aid women in Kenya in achieving requirements of the tendering process. This is a product that is available to individual women who may own enterprises or women owned companies.

Interest rate

N/A

collateral

N/A

Grace period

N/A

Duration

N/A

Repayment terms

Commission of 1% of the guarantee amount subject to a minimum of Kshs. 1,000

Ceiling amount

Minimum amount Ksh 50,000

Maximum amount Ksh 2,000,000

Requirements

  • Filling of bid bond application form
  • Payment of the commission (original bank slip required)
  • Borrower to sign indemnity terms and conditions (as will be in the application form)
  • Issuance of bid/tender security

 

50 MAWSP

 

The African Development Bank partners with EAC, COMESA & ECOWAS Regional economic blocks to implement the 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project.The platform is intended to empower millions of women in Africa to start, grow, and scale up businesses by providing a one-stop shop for their specific information needs. Click on the image for more information

 

50MAWS Project engages East African Financial institutions for more financial inclusion. Click on the photo above for the full story