Say no to borrowing from backstreet money lenders

NAIROBI, KENYA: Many parents want the best future for their children and hence will do all they can to provide a good education. So when Fiona, a mother of two, had her son admitted to a local public university a few months ago, she was very excited despite knowing she could not afford the fees. Exuding confidence, Fiona, a civil servant, strode into her local bank armed with the right papers and ready to apply for an unsecured loan. However, she was turned down because she was servicing other loans.

Unbowed, Fiona searched for other options to raise the money. In the process of hunting for possible lenders, she saw a newspaper advert about a micro-finance institution based along Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi that was offering “instant loans” to be processed in less than 24 hours.