![[Kenya] Sidian Bank targets small medical service providers with $20million loan](Sidian-Medical-Credit.jpg)
[Kenya] Sidian Bank targets small medical service providers with $20million loan
Kenya’s recently rebranded bank Sidian Bank has announced that it has $20 million that it intends to lend to medical service providers through a partnership with Medical Credit Fund.
Under the arrangement, loans of between $1000 and $25 million will be advanced to some 2,500 select private medical service providers.
“Many small and medium enterprises struggle to access working capital, infrastructure finance, purchase modern equipment or even pay for basic repairs. Investing in this sector has enormous impact because it will lead to the overall improvement of Kenya's health care services,” Sidian Bank chief executive Titus Karanja said.
Although the partnership did not reveal the loan rates, Karanja said interest rates will depend on the medical equipment being purchased as well as the stability of the business, a process that will be conducted by MFC.
He says only 35 percent of the healthcare is delivered in Kenya by the private sector, therefore investing in this sector has an enormous impact and addressing the needs of private health care entrepreneurs.
The partnership began on a pilot basis in 2010 and has already attracted the attention of up to 400 medical service providers, and disbursed a loan amount of over Sh700million.
“In the past five years we have helped many healthcare providers to build a financial track record and become bankable, grow their business acumen and improve the quality of their healthcare services. We have shown that investing in health is a solid investment and look forward to intensifying our efforts,” Medical Credit Fund Managing Director Monique Dolfing.
So far, MCF has facilitated business and quality training for over 1,200 clinics and has disbursed approximately 850 loans totaling over $15 million, with a stable 95.4 percent repayment performance throughout the African countries it operates in.
