Mobile-based lending is a double-edged sword in Kenya—helping but also spiking personal debt

Mobile-based lending is a double-edged sword in Kenya—helping but also spiking personal debt

Over the past 10 years mobile-based lending has grown in Kenya. Some estimates put the number of mobile lending platforms at 49. The industry is largely unregulated but includes major financial players. Banks such as Kenya Commercial Bank, Commercial Bank of Africa, Equity Bank and Coop Bank offer instant mobile loans.

These lending services have been made possible by the ballooning financial technology (fintech) industry.

Since the early 2000s, Kenya has been touted as a centre of technological innovation from which novel financial offerings have emerged. Mobile company Safaricom’s M-Pesa is a well-known example. It is no surprise, therefore, that technology and unregulated lending have developed together so strongly in Kenya.READ MORE

Source: https://qz.com/