The Kenyan financial landscape found itself undergoing its roughest stint of growth as a result of the Corona pandemic wave. Most leading banking institutions have struggled to weather the Covid-19 pandemic storm and only a number managed to equal their profit margins from the previous year’s albeit with a log of struggle. One such financial institution which found itself having to go back to the drawing was Mwananchi Credit Limited- a leading provider of logbook loans in the country.
Innovate or die
With the depressed economy, business lending reduced somewhat and with appetite for cash going down, financial institutions have had to go on the overdrive in innovating their market acquisition processes.
Gone are the days when financial institutions just had to open their doors and clients would come streaming in. The competition is tough , clients have more options and thus financial institutions are forced to up their game.
Digital first strategy
Realizing that the lockdown and curfews limited people’s movements, the micro-finance institution adopted a digital first strategy. “ We had to re-think our whole paradigm of marketing. People were not on the roads but somewhat life was going on. Work and business too. People were on their screens. So we decided we shall meet them where they are!”, says Dennis Mombo, CEO , Mwananchi Credit.
Mwananchi Credit revamped its website to enable end to end loan application process by clients through their portal while opening up their social media channels to become their main customer care platforms.
Further, by digitizing most of their processes and increasing efficiencies, Mwananchi Credit managed to bring down their cost of doing business which they passed to clients. The company now boasts of one of the lowest logbook financing rates in the country when compared to its peers.
