Family Bank readies Sh1.9 billion post-Covid recovery lending to SMEs, schools
Family Bank plans to accelerate the pace of post-Covid-19 recovery for thousands of small businesses and schools in Kenya through a Kes1.95 billion credit scheme.
The lender has secured a total of US$17 million (Kes1.95 billion), from BlueOrchard Finance Ltd (BlueOrchard), managed funds to loan to the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and investments in the education sector.
The financing will be used for onward lending to small businesses to accelerate the resumption of trade and overcome the economic challenges induced by Covid-19.
The lender will also be using the funds to expand the pool of affordable credit and to promote access to education for secondary, higher, and vocation education levels through tailor-made loan schemes.
“Our long-term business perspective is to drive sustainable value addition across the end-to-end value chain. This can only be possible through collaboration with partners such as BlueOrchard, a leading impact investment manager,” said Family Bank CEO Rebecca Mbithi.
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“We have taken an active role in building a sustainable business that seeks to provide value in the communities that we operate in. Further to supporting SMEs, we are deliberate in supporting key drivers of the economy like the education sector,” she explained.
Early this year, Family Bank signed a Kes1.5 billion loan guarantee deal from the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) to increase lending to small businesses, women-led entities, and climate-friendly investments.
In addition, the Bank acquired roughly Kes1.1 billion (US$10 million) from eco.business Fund to enhance access to finance for sustainable agricultural producers, especially in the tea sector bringing the total amount of funds raised by the bank to Kes4.55 billion.
Family Bank has over 750,000 customers, 4,800 bank agents, at least 8,000 merchants countrywide with total assets of Kes111 billion and a deposit base of Kes81.9 billion as of 31, December 2021.
