Kua Ventures invites small firms for Sh81 million loans

Kua Ventures has announced the opening of applications for its fourth edition of a financing programme. FILE PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK

Business advisory and credit provider Kua Ventures has announced the opening of applications for its fourth edition of a financing programme that will see successful local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) access loans of between Sh5 million and Sh10 million to fund their operations.

Opened on Tuesday, the financing scheme has set its sights on purely Kenyan-founded businesses that have been operational for at least three years and making annual revenues of between Sh5 million and Sh25 million.

Read: Review models of SME funding

The applicants must also have a proven record of pursuing social impact through their business models.

The loans, payable in five years, will attract a 12 percent interest pegged on a reducing balance basis. The firm says applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis up to June 30 this year.

“We are seeking to invest about $600,000 (Sh81.7 million) in the next few months and that would cover between 10 and 20 businesses. At a conversion rate of two percent, we could take 500 to 1,000 applications,” Kua Ventures marketing and communications director Caroline Kagendo told Business Daily.

“We got 236 applications in the last round, so I would say we can err on the side of getting too many applications but that would still be fine.”

The firm says that successful entrepreneurs will also benefit from a series of tailored coaching sessions to build their business capacity, in addition to joining a community of like-minded peers already enrolled in the programme.

Read: SMEs advised to work with digital hubs

In the previous three rounds, Kua has lent out more than Sh100 million to 15 local enterprises across a wide range of industries including waste management, retail, healthcare, agribusiness, construction and ICT among other sectors.

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