Umba, a digital bank in Nigeria, has bought a majority share in Daraja, a microfinance bank in Kenya, for an undisclosed sum.
Tiernan Kennedy and Barry O’Mahony launched Umba, a company that provides various financial services, including bill payment, interbank transfers, peer-to-peer transfers, free accounts, and loans with a 10% monthly interest rate.
“Daraja MFB’s business model will be strengthened by the UMBA investment. It will boost Daraja MFB’s digitization in particular as it works to offer its clients “anytime, everywhere” services. This is in line with the CBK’s goal of creating a microfinance banking industry that serves Kenya and the country, the CBK stated in a statement.
According to the CBK, Daraja, which received its license in 2015 and mostly served small and medium-sized businesses, has a market share of less than 1% of Kenya’s microfinance banking industry.
Daraja will give Umba a greater position in the competitive financial market of the nation and the chance to provide more specialized services, as well as a lifeline in a sector that has been severely affected by online lenders.
Umba currently holds 66.6 percent ownership in Daraja, according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
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