CBK licences Century Deposit Taking Microfinance Limited

By James Anyanzwa

Century Deposit Taking Microfinance Limited is the seventh deposit taking microfinance institution (DTM) to carry out nationwide deposit-taking microfinance business.

Central Bank granted a licence to Century Deposit Taking Microfinance Limited to carry out deposit-taking business. This follows the licensing of five nationwide DTMs and one community-based DTM.

Century’s shareholding is pre-dominantly held by local Kenyan individual and corporate entities. The firm has set up its head office and branch in Gikomba in Nairobi.

The DTMs primary focus is agricultural finance and, in this regard, the DTM will target smallholder agricultural farmers by offering agriculture-based credit and savings products.

The DTM will also provide financial services to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that serve the farmers, as suppliers and buyers.

While majority of the Kenyan populace resides in rural areas, Kenya’s economy, like most African countries, is largely an agriculture-based economy.

Boosting agriculture will thus require expanding access to financial services in rural areas and provision of agricultural finance.

Given that agricultural lending portends higher risks, the firm will implement a well-coordinated value chain financing approach to minimise risks (non-insured risks), like price volatility, associated with agricultural finance.

The firm says the value chain will include in four stages — including preparatory, pre-harvest, post-harvest and processing stages. CBK said the licensing of Century Deposit Taking Microfinance Ltd to focus on agricultural finance reiterates the Bank’s commitment to the development of an all-inclusive financial system.