Markets & Finance

KWFT profit up 25 per cent on deposits growth

kwft

KWFT loan book expanded by Sh4 billion to Sh18.8 billion while its deposit base increased by Sh4.2 billion to Sh17.1 billion. PHOTO | FILE

The Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) has grown its profits by a quarter as it started reaping the benefits of its conversion to a microfinance bank.

The microlender reported a profit after tax of Sh490 million up from Sh391 million a year earlier. The lender has been aggressive in growing its business, trying to attract both savers and borrowers.

Its loan book expanded by Sh4 billion to Sh18.8 billion while its deposit base increased by Sh4.2 billion to Sh17.1 billion.

The lender reduced its borrowing to Sh4.2 billion from Sh4.9 billion underlining increased reliance on customer savings for lending.

KWFT started mobilising deposits from the public in 2010 after conversion from a credit-only microfinance institution.

The capital-intensive conversion process had seen KWFT’s profits take a dip for three years in a row before rebounding in the last two years.

KWFT is ranked as the largest player in the microfinance bank sector with over 600,000 customers who are largely women.

It received donations of Sh18 million last year attributable to its providing financial services to women up from Sh3 million the previous year. This contributed to its net profits rise to Sh509 million. Last year it ceded shareholding to new investors through a Sh1.37 billion capital injection.