The service applies when making transactions from a Lipa Na M-PESA Business Till to other Till Numbers and PayBill Numbers, when sending money to an individual, and when withdrawing to the nominated number or at an Agent.

Fuliza ya Biashara allows business owners to advance an overdraft of up to KSh. 400,000 with a 24-hour interest-free period.

The service is available through the M-PESA Business App and on the Lipa Na M-PESA Transacting Till on *234#. Business owners can access a minimum overdraft of KSh. 1,000 and can draw multiple overdrafts of up to KSh. 400,000 based on their assigned limit.

The overdraft is automatically repaid from incoming till payments, and the Fuliza ya Biashara limit is reset every time a repayment is made, enabling business owners to immediately access new overdrafts, including the amount they just repaid.

Safaricom launched Lipa Na M-PESA as a way for businesses to conveniently receive cashless payments through their mobile phones.

With more than 538,000 businesses accepting payments through the service, the company’s strategy is now to go beyond collecting payments by providing business owners with tools to manage and grow their businesses.

Fuliza ya Biashara caters to small businesses by providing them with instant, affordable credit of up to KSh. 400,000, empowering them to rapidly respond to their business needs.

KCB Bank Kenya’s Managing Director, Mrs Annastacia Kimtai, said the roll-out of this exciting feature will give Kenyan entrepreneurs the headroom to scale up their business operations without getting into the danger of not servicing some of their critical needs like payments to suppliers.

Safaricom and KCB say that the launch of Fuliza ya Biashara seeks to meet a gap in access to affordable credit, especially among small and micro businesses that have been previously locked out due to their size and perceived risk.

Fuliza ya Biashara is M-PESA’s first credit solution dedicated to businesses and the latest in a string of innovations targeting business owners on the platform.

In 2020, Safaricom introduced the Lipa Na M-PESA Business Till and M-PESA Business App, enabling businesses to make payments from Tills and providing simplified cash flow management through the app.

More than 390,000 businesses have downloaded the M-PESA Business App, and over 50% of business transactions on M-PESA are made through the app.

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In 2019, KCB acquired a struggling NBK when it bought 297,130,033 out of 338,781,200 ordinary shares giving it 87.7% ownership.

In its latest financial results published in September 2021, NBK posted Kshs. 1.1 billion in profit after tax for the first nine months of the year. This was a 1,126% increase from Ksh. 87M posted over the same period in 2020.

Here are the letters:

In January 2020, KCB injected Ksh 5 billion into NBK to enable it to comply with capital adequacy requirements and bolster its financial resources.

KCB has given a solid promise this valentine to help NBK move even further, and things can only get better for the relationship.

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Coming hot on the heels of its acquisition of a majority stake in Banque Commerciale Du Congo (BCDC), which has since been renamed EquityBCDC, Equity Bank is now eyeing new opportunities in Ethiopia.

On the other hand, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has its eyes trained on Rwanda and Tanzania. The lender is at an advanced stage of acquiring stakes in Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) and Tanzania’s BancABC.

The appetite for regional expansion is fueled by ongoing reforms in the region. With the liberalization of the telecommunications sector in Ethiopia, Kenyan banks such as KCB and Equity which have representatives in the country are now waiting on the wings and hoping on leveraging on resultant technology to extend their influence in that market.

Commenting on this during the release of Q1 financial results, Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi said, “We have ears on the ground. And I think what the ground is saying, is that it is just a matter of time before the financial sector is liberalised.”

“Evolving economic, social, political governance reforms and environment have strengthened prospects for long-term sustained regional growth and investment, This coupled with the development of physical and soft infrastructure enhance opportunities for private sector credit growth and productivity gains from cross border trade,” he added.

The improving business environment between Kenya and Tanzania after years of frosty relationship is also driving the appetite for investors in that market.

Players in the financial sector are hoping to gain from the tripartite East African Crude Oil Pipeline project agreement (EACOP) signed between Tanzania, Uganda, and a number of oil companies.

With a population of about 90 million, almost half of whom are young people living in urban centers, the DRC is another lucrative destination for Kenyan lenders. The prospects are even higher with the US expected to reinstate DRC’s eligibility for trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

In the first quarter of 2021, Equity Bank’s regional subsidiaries registered resilience and robust growth to contribute 40 per cent of total deposits while KCB Group recorded a net profit of 6.37 billion. this marked a 1.7 per cent increase from 6.26 billion shillings reported same period last year.

According to the 2020 Bank Supervision Annual Report by the Central Bank, cross border banking by some Kenyan banks has expanded in the EAC partner states and the DRC. The banks include KCB, Diamond Trust Bank and NCBA.

Others are Guaranty Trust Bank Kenya, Equity Bank, I&M, ABC Bank and Cooperative Bank. These banks have positioned themselves to capitalize on the growing cross border trade flows.

Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic that slowed down economic activities globally, Kenyan banks continued to grow their regional footprints. As of December 31, 2020, the total number of branches of Kenyan banks subsidiaries in the EAC Partner States and DRC grew by 8.5 percent from 316 branches recorded the previous year to 343 recorded as at December 31, 2020.

The growth was mainly driven by Equity Group Holding Plc’s acquisition of BCDC. However, two other banks, KCB and Guarantee Trust Bank , scaled down their branch network in the region.

The post Kenyan banks hoping to reap big with regional expansion appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

Effectively, NBK shareholders who swapped their shares for those of KCB will now be able to freely trade the new stocks at the bourse.

KCB got consent to acquire NBK from shareholders holding 297,130,033 issued ordinary shares out of 338,781,200 issued ordinary shares, representing 87.7% by the offer closure date on August 30, 2019. This brings to the total 3,209,043,204 the number of shares the biggest bank by asset base in Eastern Africa has floated at the NSE.

“The listing will enhance the vibrancy of the capital market and will be instrumental in fueling continued business growth and the execution of the
Bank’s expansion plans. It provides more shares and therefore liquidity on
the counter, allowing more investors to be part of the Bank,” said KCB
Group Chairman Andrew Wambari Kairu.

The takeover is expected to give NBK a new lifeline as a business and fits well within the KCB expansion strategy.

“We see this friendly takeover as an enrichment of the banking heritage that we have created in the country in our more than 120 years of existence. It is anticipated to deliver immense value to our shareholders,
customers, staff and all other stakeholders through the creation of meaningful synergies from the business lines and group operating structure,” he said during the bell ringing ceremony to commence the listing of the new shares at the NSE trading floor on Friday.

In his remarks, NSE Chairman Mr. Samuel Kimani said: “We are delighted
that the acquisition has been successfully concluded, creating additional
value to the KCB shareholders and boosting overall market participation.
We continue to encourage domestic led economic growth and applaud
KCB on this historic transaction.”

KCB has started the process of integrating NBK into KCB, an exercise that
is expected to be completed within the next 24 months, focusing on
systems, processes, people and institutional governance.

It is anticipated that as a combined institution, this gives KCB a stronger
edge to play a bigger role in driving the financial inclusion and economic
empowerment agenda in the East African region while simultaneously
building a robust and financially sustainable organization.

The conversion of the non-cumulative preference shares in the share
capital of NBK is in progress and the swap of the said shares will occur. On
completion of these processes, KCB will hold 1,432,130,033 ordinary
shares comprising 97.17% of the total issued share capital of NBK and
shall apply the provisions of the Capital Markets (Take-overs and Mergers)
Regulations, 2002 and Part XXIV, Division 4 of the Companies Act to
compulsorily acquire the remaining 41,651,167 issued ordinary shares of
NBK. Requisite notices in this regard will be sent to all concerned
shareholders.

The bell-ringing event was witnessed by KCB Group CEO and MD Joshua
Oigara, NSE CEO Geoffrey Odundo, Capital Markets Authority CEO Paul
Muthaura, Central Depository & Settlement Corporation Limited Acting.
CEO Hilda Njeru, and Competition Authority of Kenya CEO Francis
Wang’ombe.

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