More than 500 unregulated microlenders have invaded Kenya's credit market in response to a rise in demand for quick loans and the freeze in commercial bank lending to individuals and small business that followed the 2016 capping of interest rates, the latest industry data shows.
The lenders, who are charging borrowers annualised interest of between 18 per cent and 200 per cent, have tapped into a market that has become more lucrative than mainstream banking where lending rates are capped by law at 13 per cent.
