Small and medium business owners can now secure loans of between Sh. 1,000 and Sh. 1 million payable between three months and two years. This is courtesy of the Kenya Commercial Bank’s Biashara Smart product, which is presenting you with a new avenue to access improved financial services.
According to Joshua Oigara, the chief executive officer at KCB, Biashara Smart is designed to improve the ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises. “This is a proposition that will help businesses run efficiently and professionally,” said Mr. Oigara during the launch in late July.
Biashara Smart is hinged on the Biashara Lite and Biashara Pro packages. Each of the two packs come with varying benefits and charges. Nonetheless, both of them come with bundles of data, text messages and voice minutes, website builders, email accounts, tablets, and a mobile or current bank account.
Interestingly, the product is being carried in collaboration with telecommunications giant, Safaricom. According to Safaricom’s chief executive officer, Mr. Bob Collymore, the partnership between KCB and Safaricom in delivering the Biashara Smart to small scale business owners will ultimately result in the best class of financial and integrated communications solutions for local enterprises.
But that is not where the juice ends. KCB once a small business owner joins the KCB umbrella, he or she will now be able to apply for advances through their mobile phones and receive approvals after the bank’s employees physically visit their business site. This process is expected to take a maximum of two days.
In the same vein, Biashara Lite customers will be able to borrow a maximum of Sh. 20,000. This will be processed immediately and will be payable within 30 days at a discounted interest of 7 per cent. Customers of Biashara Pro on the other end will be allowed to apply for loans of up to Sh. 1 million. These loans will be payable in 24 months and will attract an interest of 1.5 per month.
According to Mr. Oigara, KCB is looking at an annual interest rate ranging between 12-18 per cent. “In case of account holders using different currencies, though, the range will be seven to eight per cent a year,” he added. These charges will be subject to the borrower’s credit worthiness.
