NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 1- A new report by ReelAnalytics has revealed that men experiment with multiple digital credit providers compared to women who are considered more loyal to a single brand.
The survey which was conducted among 1,ooo Kenyans across eight counties further revealed that women are more concerned about loan defaulting and their consequences, as compared to men.
Fifty-nine percent of the respondents were men compared to women who ranked 49 percent.
As of February 2021, fourteen million Kenyans were listed on the Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs) highlighting Kenyans’ struggle with repayment at a time where the majority had lost their sources of income in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The majority of the male and female borrowers according to the data fall under the age bracket of 30-34 years, at 59 and 49 percent respectively.
“Digital credit uptake is highest among Kenyans employed in the informal sector; this is mainly attributed to repayment surety based on a regular monthly salary,” the data reveals.
The survey further showed that those residing in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru towns have the highest uptake of digital lending platforms at 64, 59, and 57 percent respectively.
According to the data, Safaricom’s overdraft facility, Fuliza was ranked as the most subscribed at 55 percent.
This comes in the wake of fresh data showing that the amount of cash disbursed on Fuliza to Kenyans hit Sh220.38 billion over the six months to June, marking a 25 percent jump from Sh176 billion in a similar period last year.
M-Shwari is also the most popular among five key digital lending platforms, influenced by its connection to the leading mobile service provider in the country (Safaricom) at 40 percent score followed by Tala (36 percent), Fuliza (30 percent) Branch (23 percent) and KCB-Mpesa at (22) percent.
The digital platforms have remained top on their priority list of credit sources to fund growth of small business.
“In the absence of digital lending platforms, most Kenyans would seek business growth loans from sources such as close family members,” reads the report.
Borrowing within family circles was considered less convenient as loan accessibility is usually unpredictable and amounts smaller compared to official sources like digital lenders.
The increasing borrowings on digital loans indicate an increased appetite for loans by households to sustain their living within restrained incomes.
