By Kamau Njoroge
Karibu Kenya Ventures Limited, a regional microfinance company based in Thika, has rebranded into Incredo Finance as it seeks to spread its wings in the financial services industry.
The microfinance, which mainly targets Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), is seeking to grow its customer base to 50,000 in a span of three years.
Incredo Managing Director Tony Mwangi, who spoke during the unveiling of the firm’s new brand in Thika, divulged that the microfinance will be extending a loan facility to a tune of Ksh1.5 billion to MSMEs and businesspersons in the agribusiness sector.
Mwangi said that Incredo has been in the forefront in offering financial solutions to small and medium enterprises, as it sought to aid entrepreneurs grow their ventures since its incorporation in 2014.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises are critical drivers of economic growth, but young entrepreneurs have been struggling to access credit, a situation that has been scaring many from implementing their business ideas. We have been financial partners to most start-ups and already many have grown their establishments to immeasurable heights because of our partnership,” Mwangi said.
In the current inflation occasioned by a sharp rise in the cost of living, Mwangi said most MSMEs are blacklisted, not because they are deliberate defaulters, but the harsh economic environment inhibits loan repayments.
The MD insisted that the government has an opportunity to rationalize the situation by reducing the cost of living through controlling the rising inflation.
He at the same time proposed the need for public-private partnerships in the distribution of Hustler Fund, the cheap, and collateral-free credit that President William Ruto promised to low income earners to help them boost their businesses.
His sentiments were echoed by Alvin Muriithi and Lenard Njoroge, directors at Incredo, who said financial institutions in the country have enough financial products, and if well utilized, can revolutionize the economy that has been debilitated for years, especially since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
