Do women fear taking out loans?

A credit officer has said that most women fear taking loans from financial institutions or even the government friendly funds that have been introduced into the market.

Speaking in Nakuru town on Wednesday, Mirriam Ndiang'ui, an assistant credit manager at Women Enterprise Development Fund in the Rift Valley region, said that although women have tried to access the fund, they are still having problems with taking up the loans.

"I can tell you most women fear loans, maybe they think their properties will be attached if they default. But a greater percentage is illiterate which has compounded  the ability to apply for the same," she said.

She said the repayment rate for the women who have accessed the fund is encouraging with 92% repayment rate, meaning that many of them ensure they are prompt.

The officer said that despite the challenges women go through, the enterprise has some limitations in terms of funding as the government is the only funding agency.

"We appreciate the efforts being done by the women to apply for the loans, it is encouraging, however as the enterprise we know we have limitation in terms of resources, because we depend solely on the government funding. Most women groups had complained about the little money being allocated to the groups, we have adjusted slightly upwards to Shs.100,000," she added