Business Loans

• Commercial bank loans — term loans and overdrafts from banks, usually requiring the most documentation but offering the largest amounts.
• SACCO business loans — available to members, often at more favourable rates than banks, typically sized against your savings and share capital.
• Microfinance institution (MFI) loans — smaller, faster, and less document-heavy than a bank loan, aimed at micro and small businesses.
• Government-backed schemes — the Hustler Fund's group loan product supports registered groups of 10-100 members, alongside various county government loan schemes for local SMEs.

Beyond the amount you're asking for, most lenders assess your business's registration status, a clean CRB (credit reference bureau) record, some evidence of consistent income or cash flow (bank statements, M-Pesa statements, or audited accounts depending on the lender), and sometimes collateral or a guarantor for larger amounts. Sole proprietors can typically qualify, though requirements are often lighter for registered companies with a longer trading history.

Kenya has three licensed credit reference bureaus — TransUnion, Metropol, and CreditInfo — and a negative listing with any of them can block a loan application. You can check your status for free or at a nominal cost through each bureau's own channels (for example, Metropol via *433# or TransUnion's Nipashe app), and clear a listing by settling the outstanding debt with the lender that reported it, after which they're required to update your status.

• Compare the actual interest rate and processing fee together — a lower headline rate with a high processing fee can cost more overall than it first appears.
• Match the repayment period to your business's cash flow — a shorter term means higher installments but less interest paid overall.
• Check whether the loan requires collateral or a guarantor, and whether you can meet that requirement.
• Ask what happens on late payment or default before you sign, not after.