Metropol, KBA to boost women led businesses

Metropol CEO Gideon Kipyakwai during the release of the findings of a state of the economy ''Tala MoneyMarch'' report survey conducted between January and February 2025 during the Launch of Tala Money march report at a Serena hotel,Nairobi on 12th March 2025. [David Gichuru,Standard]

Metropol Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) and the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) have partnered to enhance the collection and analysis of data with a key focus on women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The partnership follows a competitive bidding process involving all three licensed CRBs in Kenya, with Metropol emerging as the winner.

The deal was signed at KBA offices, with the two institutions looking at promoting financial inclusion by addressing the data gaps that hinder women entrepreneurs' access to finance.

Metropol CRB chief executive Gideon Kipyakwai said many women-led businesses operate in the informal sector and face persistent barriers such as limited access to information, technology, and financing.

Mr Kipyakwai said there is a need for reliable sex-disaggregated data to support the development of financial services tailored to women's economic empowerment.

"Currently, many financial service providers neither collect nor utilise sex-disaggregated data consistently," he said.

This, he noted, makes it difficult to design solutions that reflect the realities of women-owned MSMEs.

"This partnership with KBA will leverage Metropol's robust data infrastructure to provide centralised, credible access to MSME market data across the country," he said.

Women entrepreneurs

The initiative is expected to cover women-led MSMEs nationwide, offering data-driven insights to help financial institutions better understand the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.

KBA chief executive Raymond Molenje said the deal will delve into scaling up the provision, access, and practical use of sex-disaggregated data among its member banks to foster a more inclusive financial ecosystem.

"We will leverage Metropol's data to improve Kenya's financial health. We are focusing on all businesses in the credit space, but with this new deal, women-led MSMEs will have our full support to create more employment and make Kenya's economy more vibrant," said Molenje.

Director of Research and Policy at KBA, Dr Samuel Tiriongo, said despite women borrowers having a strong credit discipline, they have historically been underserved in credit access.

"Metropol's involvement will reduce the data burden on financial institutions while enhancing accessibility, deepening market insights, and ensuring strict adherence to data security standards," said Tiriongo.