Cruel mobile loan providers are exploiting wananchi because counties have failed to adequately empower their residents economically, Equity Bank official has said.
Equity Bank’s Chief Commercial Officer Polycarp Igathe said the devolved governments have performed dismally in empowering small and medium enterprises.
He said owners of such businesses require loans for growth and that the financial providers were exploiting the failure by counties to provide loans at very high-interest rates.
Igathe said loans provided via mobile phones charge high-interest rates because there is no confidence that borrowers can pay them back.
He said banks were cautious in providing such loans owing to the fact that SMEs don’t show them the security for recovering the cash.
He said counties should intervene and empower residents to have enough cash flows so that the banks with their fair interest rates can take the risks of providing them with loans.
Igathe was speaking in Embu when Equity Bank donated PPEs to the county to be distributed to frontline health workers. Governor Martin Wambora and county commissioner Abdullahi Galgalo were present.
