The most common reason why small businesses fail is a lack of funding or working capital. A business needs a certain amount of money to keep operations running on a day-to-day basis.

This includes expenses such as stock, funding payroll, rent, utilities, and maintenance, among others. When a business does not make enough sales to cater for such expenses, it can face funding shortfalls that can put it out of operation.

Sadly, most small businesses in Kenya are unable to access credit when needed. In fact, the SME credit denial rate in Kenya is at 60 percent, with the high financing gap attributed to various issues, including limited experience in running a business and lack of collateral, among others.

At the same time, some SMEs lack information about available credit products, despite the rollout of various SME friendly products by financial institutions.

One of the products that SMEs can utilize is the NCBA Loop, a unique app that simplifies financial management by combining banking, transactions, budgeting, and savings in one place.

The platform not only gives business people instant access to credit but also flexible loan periods.

Borrowers can access unsecured loans of between Sh50,000 and Sh3 million, repayable in 6 to 36 months depending on the amount borrowed.

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To qualify for a loan, users are advised to make LOOP their primary account, channel salary or proceeds from business through LOOP, and transact for at least 3 months.

“If you have a good credit history and we are happy with your transaction activity on LOOP, we will assign you a loan limit,” the platform states.

Once a loan is approved, all applicable fees including credit insurance, and excise duty are collected upfront on disbursement meaning the amount received is lower than the amount requested.

Interestingly, Loop users can also access an overdraft of up to Sh100,000 to complete transactions whenever short of funds in their Loop account.

How to apply for a loan from NCBA Loop

Below is the step-by-step guide to accessing the NCBA loop loan:

1. Register for the service: To register for an NCBA Loop account, you need to download the Android app, iOS app, or go to their website https://www.ncbaloop.com/
2. Create an account: To create an account you need a phone number and your ID number. You will be sent a PIN to activate the service to access your account.
3. Applying for a loan: Once you have successfully created an account, you can be able to apply for a loan.

How to repay NCBA Loop loan

1. Allowed Payments: In an instance where a customer chooses to pay in bits, full and partial settlement shall be accepted

1. Repayment Period: Every loan has a different schedule, this is found via the Loop App in the Loop Loan Menu Option. This schedule summarizes all future payment dates and amounts due with a clear view of the Principal and Interest component.
2. Settlements: The app is curated in that, loan repayments will be automatically collected from your Loop Current Account every month from the date of disbursement.