Kenya is run on the wheels of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). About 92 percent of businesses in the country are SMEs, the majority of them being in the informal sector. These SMEs employ about 86 percent of the population and contribute about 45 percent to Kenya’s GDP.
Despite all these advantages that SMEs add to the Kenyan economy and the welfare of millions of Kenyans, the sector still faces a myriad of challenges that have led to the millions of them collapsing. Stats from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that at least 450,000 SMEs are shutting down businesses in Kenya annually. (This was before Covid-19).
One of the major challenges affecting SMEs in Kenya is access to credit. Many have been unable to get credit from formal commercial banks for lack of security and proper records that are needed to secure a loan to invest in their businesses. This has left many of them helpless.
It is in an attempt to give Kenyans access to low credit as well as their businesses that Standard Chartered Bank has launched the SC Juza Mobile Loan App. The app is specifically designed to give out loans for individuals and businesses from as little as 1,000 shillings to as much as 100,000 shillings for a period of up to 2 months.
The interest rate is friendly. The lender will be charging at 1.6 percent per month and the interest is applicable just for the period that the loan is active. Compared to other mobile loan apps, SC Juza scores top in terms of having the lowest interest rates. Some apps are charging their customers as much as 33 percent per month while others are charging 1.75 percent per day.
With SC Juza, Kenyan SMEs can now access mobile loans at affordable interest rates without the need for any paperwork, invest in their businesses, pay back and even secure another amount. The app is light, easy to install and takes less than one minute to set up and start borrowing.
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