Digital lending platform Bora Credit, developed by Ceres Tech Limited, is battling a wave of renewed criticism from Kenyan users who claim that the platform has engaged in a series of manipulative financial practices, contrasting sharply with the company’s public narrative of providing secure, voluntary, and privacy-conscious lending services through its mobile application.
Ceres Tech Limited, the Nairobi-based company behind Bora Credit, has maintained that it is a fully licensed digital credit provider, operating under the regulatory oversight of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) since September 19, 2022, with physical offices located at Victoria Court, Abacus Lane, Ruaraka, and positioning itself as a legitimate and compliant operator.
Contrary to these representations, multiple Kenyan users have reported experiences in which loans were disbursed to their mobile devices without their knowledge or consent, accompanied by persistent messages and threatening communications from company representatives demanding repayment, often inflating the sums owed to nearly double the original disbursed amounts and invoking exposure of personal information as a form of coercion, thereby creating a climate of intimidation that undermines the assurances of transparency, voluntary participation, and data privacy publicly promoted by the platform.
The reports provided by affected users describe scenarios in which company personnel initiate contact under the pretense of extending loan durations, instruct recipients to make changes to device settings, and subsequently cause loans to be automatically deposited into the recipients’ mobile money wallets, with explanations framed as temporary system upgrades promising reversals within a short period.
Once this window has elapsed, attempts to engage with the company are met with switched-off lines, unanswered calls, or evasive responses, leaving recipients to navigate financial obligations they never requested and did not consent to.
Several affected individuals have documented interactions, including partial recordings of phone conversations, revealing the systematic nature of the manipulative tactics, which appear designed to create a false sense of legitimacy while simultaneously placing pressure on recipients to repay loans they did not request.
Further investigation, including a review of Google Play Store feedback, indicates that a growing number of Kenyans have been subjected to similar experiences, reporting unsolicited loans of varying amounts accompanied by persistent messaging, threatening communications, and demands for repayment with interest rates that nearly double the original loan, creating financial and psychological strain.
Some recipients, while able to repay small amounts comfortably, have chosen to refuse repayment as a matter of principle, highlighting that others who were forced into larger, unsolicited loans are struggling to meet the inflated repayment demands, illustrating a broader pattern of coercion and predatory behaviour allegedly employed across Bora Credit and related applications managed by Ceres Tech Limited.
Below is what one user of Bora Credit reported regarding their personal experience and broader observations about the platform’s operations.
“Hello Sir. Please inform Kenyans that there is a loan app called Bora Credit powered by Ceres Tech Limited (they also have other loan apps like Chapaa Loans and more which reportedly engage in the same scam). They use manipulation and trickery to have unsuspecting Kenyans take loans from them and then start threatening people to pay back the loans, even though they use unlawful means to loan a Kenyan without their consent. A lady from the company reaches out and informs you that they want to extend your loan duration. She then asks you to adjust certain settings, and a loan is automatically disbursed to your Ksh account. When you ask why money was sent to your account without your consent, they say it is a temporary system upgrade and that the transaction will be reversed in 30 minutes. When you call after 30 minutes, they will not answer the phone or they simply switch off the line. Luckily, I managed to record part of the phone call when I started being suspicious. Upon further digging, including reviewing app reviews on Google Play Store, I learned that many Kenyans have been tricked into taking these loans without their consent and are forced to pay them back with high interest rates (almost double the amount), while the company threatens to expose personal information if repayment is not made. They also spam messages and send threats. I chose not to pay, even though the money they sent was about Ksh 3,200, which I could comfortably pay, but I have learned that some Kenyans who were forced into larger loans are struggling to repay them.”
The user also shared several voice notes capturing portions of phone conversations with company representatives.
