The Central Bank of Kenya has granted fresh licenses to 19 digital lending services, adding to the 32 that were announced in March 2023.

Officially termed as Digital Credit Providers (DCPs), the move by CBK brings to 51 the total number of services under the regulatory regime. The bank commenced regulation of digital lenders in March 2022 requiring the lending services to apply for new licenses by September 17, 2022, or cease operations.

Press Release: Licensing of 19 Additional Digital Credit Providershttps://t.co/7pbGCjnCWG pic.twitter.com/ncNMRW3dgj

— Central Bank of Kenya (@CBKKenya) March 6, 2024

The newly licensed lenders include:

Lipa Later Limited
Ceres Tech
Azura Credit
Chapeo Capital
Chime Capital
Creditarea Capital
Decimal Capital
Dexintec Kenya Limited
Factorhouse Limited
Fezotech Kenya Limited
Fortune Credit Limited
Lobelitec Credit
Maralal Ledger
Marble Capital Solutions
MKM Capital
Pi Capital Limited
Senti Capital
UbaPesa Limited
Zillions Credit Limited

“We acknowledge the efforts of the applicants and the support of other regulators and agencies in this process,” CBK adds in the statement.

The full list of accreddited digital lenders in Kenya:

Anjoy Credit Limited
Asante FS East Africa Limited
Autochek Limited
Azura Credit Limited
Ceres Tech Limited
Chapeo Capital Limited
Chime Capital Limited
Colkos Enterprises Limited
Creditarea Capital Limited
Decimal Capital Limited
Dexintec Kenya Limited
EDOMX Limited
Extend Money Services Limited
Factorhouse Limited
Fezotech Kenya Limited
Fortune Credit Limited
Fourth Generation Capital Limited
Getcash Capital Limited
Giando Africa Limited (Trading as Flash Credit Africa)
Inventure Mobile Limited (Trading as Tala)
Jijenge Credit Limited
Jumo Kenya Limited
Kweli Smart Solutions Limited
Letshego Kenya Ltd
Lipa Later Limited
Little Pesa Limited
Lobelitec Credit Limited
Maralal Ledger Limited
Marble Capital Solutions Limited
MKM Capital Limited
MFS Technologies Limited
M-Kopa Loan Kenya Limited
Mwanzo Credit Limited
Mycredit Limited
MyWagepay Limited
Natal Tech Limited
Ngao Credit Limited
Okolea International Limited
Pezesha Africa Limited
Pi Capital Limited
Rewot Ciro Limited
Risine Credit Limited
Senti Capital Limited
Sevi Innovation Limited
Sokohela Limited
Tenakata Enterprises Limited
UbaPesa Limited
Umoja Fanisi Limited
Zanifu Limited
Zenka Digital Limited
Zillions Credit Limited

The decision by the government to regulate digital lenders came following concerns from the public about poor practices from digital lenders. Some of the practices that irked Kenyans include:

High-interest rates
Over-indebtedness
Unethical collection practices
Personal data abuse

As reported by BitKE, in December 2022, to address some of these concerns, the government introduced its digital lending platform called Hustler Fund.

A World’s First? Kenya’s USSD-Powered Government ‘Hustler Fund’ Loan Program Kicks Off

When a customer borrows, the approved loan is sent to their mobile money account; 95% is sent to their mobile money wallet, while 5% is sent to a savings account.https://t.co/Ite3gLRrVJ

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) December 2, 2022

The Hustler fund, a signature campaign promise by current President William Ruto, can be accessed via USSD by dialing *254# from any of the country’s three mobile phone network providers.

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