Sidian bank has committed Sh2billion financing to the fund while the remaining will be provided by MCF, which is part of PharmAccess Group a social impact based fund aimed at supporting Health SMEs in Africa/CFM NEWS
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 27 – Sidian Bank and Medical Credit Fund (MCF) have announced a Sh4billion medical financing deal targeting the private health care service providers.
Sidian bank has committed Sh2billion financing to the fund while the remaining will be provided by MCF, which is part of PharmAccess Group a social impact based fund aimed at supporting Health SMEs in Africa.
Speaking during the launch ceremony in Nairobi, Sidian Bank’s CEO, Titus Karanja said the agreement will see at least 2,500 private medical services providers in Kenya, receive loans of between Sh100,000 to Sh250 million to purchase or maintain their medical equipment.
“Today, many small and medium-sized clinics struggle to access working capital, infrastructure finance, purchase modern equipment or even pay for basic repairs. We are living out our brand promise of enabling entrepreneurs create wealth through provision of transformational financial solutions,” Karanja noted adding that the program will go for a period of three years.
The partnership did not disclose the loans rate but according to Karanja, interest rates will depend on the medical equipment being purchased as well as the stability of the business, a process that will be conducted by MFC.
He says only 35 percent of the healthcare is delivered in Kenya by the private sector, therefore investing in this sector has an enormous impact and addressing the needs of private health care entrepreneurs.
The partnership began on a pilot basis in 2010 and has already attracted the attention of up to 400 medical service providers, and disbursed a loan amount of over Sh700million.
“In the past five years we have helped many healthcare providers to build a financial track record and become bankable, grow their business acumen and improve the quality of their healthcare services. We have shown that investing in health is a solid investment and look forward to intensifying our efforts,” Medical Credit Fund Managing Director Monique Dolfing.
So far, MCF has facilitated business and quality training for over 1,200 clinics and has disbursed approximately 850 loans totaling over $15 million, with a stable 95.4 percent repayment performance throughout the African countries it operates in.
