Kenya banks begin offering technology finance

Banks in Kenya are targeting students, teachers and technologically-minded consumers with their latest financial products.

According to Business Daily, a number of lenders have introduced products aimed at helping these demographics secure funds to purchase items such as computers.

Equity Bank - which holds 52 per cent of all bank accounts in Kenya - has reached a deal with the Kenya Institute of Education and Safaricom to provide credit for teachers to buy laptops, which come with broadband connections supplied by the mobile phone network.

Loans of up to 75,000 Kenyan shillings (€726) are being offered to teachers, with interest fixed at eight per cent.

Analysts believe such deals are ideal for banks and telecoms providers, which are able to increase their loan portfolios and customer bases respectively, while consumers also benefit from greater finance offerings.

"Banks have a substantial floating liquidity that is not being fully utilised and we expect them to roll out more innovative products to attract borrowing," marketing executive Timothy Kosuri was quoted by the news agency as saying.