This archive report was first published on 13 October 2019.
Kenya-based microfinance firm 4G Capital has made a significant impact in the country's small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, lending Sh4.3 billion ($41.69 million) over the past year.
According to co-founder and CEO Wayne Hennessy-Barrett, the firm has seen a remarkable increase in demand for its services, with a 111 percent year-on-year (Quarter three 2018 to Quarter three 2019) increase in the total capital deployed through its loans.
4G Capital has more than 89 branches across Kenya, serving over 80,000 customers, 75 percent of whom are women, and 77 percent from rural areas.
Hennessy-Barrett attributed the firm's success to its ability to focus on the unique needs of its customers and provide the right solution, with 80 percent of its customers taking out repeat loans.
The microfinance firm has achieved a 94 percent average repayment rate by mixing customer oversight and training with unsecured SME loans.
By the end of its first full year in 2014, 4G Capital had lent about Sh455.8 million ($4.3 million), but between the third quarter of this year and the third quarter of last year, it lent Sh4.3 billion.
Hennessy-Barrett expects the firm to lend over $46 million (about Sh4.7 billion) to its Kenyan customers by the end of 2019, with an average loan size of $115 (about Sh11,935).
