Jijenge Credit allows customers to defer loan payments

Kenya’s non- deposit taking micro lender, Jijenge Credit Ltd will allow businesses and individuals affected by the coronavirus outbreak to defer loan repayments for up to three months.

The firm’s Chief executive Peter Macharia in an interview further said that the move will not affect the borrowers’ credit rating neither will it impact on the risk classification of their loans.

“There will be no penalties beginning this month of April for our customers and we are extending this to salaried individuals who were dismissed and businesses that had been forced to shut down following the Ministry of health guidelines,” said Mr. Macharia in a telephone interview, adding that the move was meant to cushion Kenyans from the impacts of the deadly virus.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in mid-March directed SMEs to contact their banks for assessment and restructuring of loans based on their circumstances – in a move that has seen the likes of Stanbic Bank and Absa Kenya, formally Barclays Bank Kenya among others to restructure their loan agreements with clients to conform to their needs at hand.

“We will extend these loan holidays past June should the situation persist but this will be based on an individual circumstance,” he said – adding that the moratorium may not change existing terms and conditions of the loans.

Effective April 1, loan apps under the umbrella body Digital Lenders Association (DLAK), which represents 17 major digital lenders in the country, also agreed to waive the late repayment fees as part of the measures to support customers during this period.

“The move will cushion the customers who are under distress, following the slowdown in the economy. Customers are advised to seek more detailed information on the specific aspects of the waiver from their respective providers,” DLAK said in a statement last week.