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Banks partner with Metropol for women’s credit data
A past Women Enterprise Fund event in Nairobi. Some local banks have recently signed agreements to offer subsidised loans to MSMEs, particularly women-owned businesses.
Metropol Credit Reference Bureau has entered a partnership with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) to boost collection, analysis and application of gendered credit data in Kenya, in efforts to boost access to credit for women and women-led businesses.
The deal will involve provision of gender-specific credit information in Kenya to local banks, to advance understanding of the dynamics of lending in the market.
According to the two institutions, the absence of enough data on women’s creditworthiness in Kenya is among the key reasons they are financially excluded and a number can’t access credit from formal banking institutions.
“Currently, many Financial Service Providers (FSPs) neither collect nor utilise sex-disaggregated data consistently, making it difficult to design solutions that reflect the realities of women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” said Metropol CEO Gideon Kipyakwai.
“This partnership will leverage Metropol’s robust data infrastructure to provide centralised, credible access to MSME market data across the country.”
KBA chief executive Raymond Molenje said banks will use the data to improve support for women-led small and medium sized businesses, advancing their job creation potential and boosting Kenya’s economy.
“We will leverage Metropol’s data to improve Kenya’s financial health. We are focusing on all businesses in the credit space but with this new deal, women-led MSMEs will have our full support,” said Molenje.
“Metropol’s involvement will reduce the data burden on financial institutions while enhancing accessibility, deepening market insights, and ensuring strict adherence to data security standards,” said Samuel Tiriongo, head of research at KBA.
KCB, Equity, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, NCBA and Stanbic Bank are among local lenders which have recently signed deals to provide subsidised loans to MSMEs, especially those owned by women.
This deal follows a series of funding to Kenyan banks meant to improve their lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with some having a rider on the quota that must be dedicated to women-led enterprises.