CBK delays nod for 359 digital lenders

Among the firms that got the CBK nod include digital micro-lender Tala (Inventure Mobile Ltd), which recently raised $145 million (Sh17.4 billion) for onward lending and expansion in its four key markets including Kenya - taking the battle for the popular mobile loans to commercial banks' doorsteps.

Others are South Africa-based financial technology firm JUMO, which recently tapped former ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru as its president. CBK also licenced Letshego Holdings Ltd, a pan-African financial services provider listed in Botswana.

Others are M-Kopa Loan Kenya, MFS Technologies, Mwanzo, Pezesha Africa, Tenakata Enterprises, Ngai Credit, Umoja Fanisi and Zanifu. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta in December 2021 approved a change in the law that allowed CBK to regulate digital lenders, which gave it the power to rein in lenders who violate consumer privacy.

The crackdown came three years after a distressed borrower committed suicide, prompting CBK to swing into action. In 2019, the CBK made a shocking revelation that a middle-aged man took his life after failing to withstand harassment and public shaming by an unnamed digital lender.

CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge has been a critic of the digital lenders, accusing them of rogue tactics.