NCBA, Isuzu join hands in school bus financing

NCBA Bank #ticker:NCBA is targeting schools with a new financing deal to meet transport demand amid a reduction in buses’ carrying capacity due to coronavirus.

This comes on the back of a requirement restricting school buses to utilise half of their normal capacity.

Under the financing deal, private schools will enjoy up to 72-month repayment period on buses bought from Isuzu East Africa. The NCBA loans have an interest rate of 13 percent.

The financing deal was arrived at following a consultation with 822 schools under the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) umbrella.

“This programme provides a versatile payment solution that will enable schools to acquire new buses to meet their transport needs,” KPSA National Chair Mutheu Kasanga said during the unveiling of the partnership.

Clients will also enjoy a one-term repayment holiday.

Similarly, they will be able to acquire buses on long term leases of between two to five years without any upfront charges.

NCBA’s asset finance and business solutions acting Group Director Lennox Mugambi said buses will also be insured at a discounted rate of 3.8 percent by the NCBA Insurance Agency.

“As the leader in asset finance, we are keen to offer learning institutions financial solutions that will give them resilience to recover after nearly 10 months of closure,” Mr Mugambi said.

Early this month, transport charges by schools increased by up to 80 percent due to the reduced carrying capacity.

Some schools opted to hire additional vehicles to cover the shortfall while others have been forced to make more trips, incurring higher fuel and other costs including maintenance.

The extra costs have been passed on to parents and guardians in the form of higher transport charges.