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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) to Transform from Microfinance Institution (MFI) into Commercial Bank

» Posted by Mary Fu in Category: Africa at 12:01 am

Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) has begun the conversion process into a commercial bank that is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. The conversion follows the footsteps of K-Rep Bank and Equity Bank, former Kenyan microfinance institutions that were transformed into commercial banks in 1999 and 2004, respectively. According to CEO Dr. Jennifer Riria, KWFT hopes to become a “one-stop-shop” financial institution that will offer savings accounts, in addition to loans.

Ms. Mary Iskerderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking (WWB), KWFT’s primary international microfinance network, is on a four-day visit in Kenya to speak with key officials of Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) regarding the formation of the new bank.

KWFT is a Kenyan microfinance institution (MFI) based in Nairobi, Kenya that provides financial and non-financial services for women in business. Founded in 1982, it is led by Dr. Jennifer Riria, CEO and Mwangi Githaiga, CFO. KWFT offers capital and consumer loans for groups of borrowers, or Kiwas, with a repayment schedule of nine to twelve months. According to year end 2006 data from the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), KWFT has 85,555 active borrowers and a total loan portfolio of USD 32.7 million. In addition, it has assets of USD 52.1 million, a debt to equity ratio of 273 percent and return on assets (ROA) of 4.37 percent. Its primary network is Women’s World Banking (WWB), an international microfinance network. It received a grade of B+ in MicroRate’s February 2007 evaluation.