Micro-finance institutions (MFIs) have since inception styled themselves as the poor person’s bank. They are marketed as the poor man’s ‘saviour’ from prohibitive interest rates charged by commercial banks.
However, data released by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) tell a slightly different story. The cheapest micro-loans, which are very small, short-term loans at low interest, especially to a start-up company or self-employed person, in the market are offered by a commercial bank.