MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Institution Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) Officially Launches Kinga Ya Jamii, a Last-Expense Insurance Product

The Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) officially launched Kinga Ya Jamii, a last-expense insurance product. Its primary purpose is to enable KWFT’s clients and their families to offset funeral expenses.

KWFT is a Kenyan microfinance institution (MFI) based in Nairobi, Kenya that provides financial and non-financial services to 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.