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 M-Shwari by CBA bank and Safaricom

M-Shwari by CBA bank and Safaricom

About the Product

This is a paperless banking service offered through M-PESA that has the following benefits.

  • Enable a customer to open and operate an M-Shwari bank account through your mobile phone, through M-PESA, without having to visit any bank to fill out bank account opening forms.
  • It provides the customer the ability to move money in and out of their M-Shwari savings account to your M-PESA account at no charge.
  • It gives you an opportunity to save as little as Ksh.1 and earns interest of up-to 6.65 on the saving balance. This cash is moved into the savings account using a handset via the M-PESA Menu.
  • Enable the customer access micro credit product (loan) of a minimum of Ksh.100 anytime and receive the loan instantly on their M-PESA account.

 

 

 

 

M-Shwari Loan

The M-Shwari Loan Account is a micro-credit product which allows you to borrow money in times of need or to complement your savings towards an investment or enterprise.
  1. Loans

Interest rate

7.5%

 

collateral

credit score

 

Grace period

N/A

 

Duration

The loan is payable within 30 days. However, you can repay the loan before the due date and borrow again. If you pay the loan in less than 30 days your loan limit qualification will increase.

 

Repayment terms

Customers can pay anytime within the 30 days

 

Requirements

In order to qualify for a loan all you need is to be an M-PESA subscriber for 6 months,

save on M-Shwari and

actively use other Safaricom services such as voice, data and M-PESA

Other products

 

Brief description of the product

This is a savings account that allows M-Shwari customers to save for a defined purpose and for a specified amount of time. The funds saved on the M-Shwari Lock Savings account will be kept in the account until the maturity date; this maturity date is determined by the customer upon opening the account and ranges between one and twelve months. Customers can make micro deposit into this.

 

The M-Shwari Lock Savings account is ideal for customers looking for higher interest rates and those wishing to keep money away safely for one to six months.
  1. Lock Savings Account

Requirements

  • One must be an M-Shwari customer in order to access this service.
  • To join M-Shwari, Go to your M-PESA menu, select “My account” and “Update menu” then go to your M-PESA menu, select Loans and Savings, MShwari, click on activate account and accept terms and conditions.

 

Benefits

  • No minimum savings
  • There are no charges levied on the M-Shwari Lock Savings account.
  • The interest rate is constant during the investment period, and is calculated and paid out monthly or at maturity.
  • The Lock period varies from one month to six months depending on the customer needs.

 

Interest

Savings Amount              Interest Rate

1-20,000                           3% P.A

20,001- 50,000                  5% P.A

>50,000                            6% P.A

 

 


Source
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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