For two decades, asset financing has helped businesses in western Kenya buy the equipment they need to grow.
NCBA Group on Friday marked 20 years of its Johari Asset Finance initiative, highlighting how access to finance has supported businesses and economic activity in Kisumu and the wider region.
The bank’s group director for asset finance and business solutions, Lennox Mugambi, said the programme had expanded from financing commercial vehicles to offering broader mobility and asset-financing solutions.
Speaking during the anniversary celebrations in Kisumu on Friday, Mugambi said the services now target businesses in agriculture, construction and the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector.
“Twenty years has been quite an interesting milestone for us because it means that we’ve supported our customers through our partners whom we are honouring today,” Mugambi said
He said the programme had helped customers pursue their business ambitions by providing financing for assets needed to expand their operations.
“Over the last 20 years, we’ve been able to positively impact customers with those ambitions and help them achieve their ambitions. Behind every customer’s business, there is an ambition that they’re trying to achieve,” he said.
Mugambi also urged businesses experiencing financial difficulties to engage with the bank on possible restructuring options rather than allowing loans to fall into default.
Jerome Ochieng, Kisumu County Executive Committee Member for Infrastructure, Transport and Public Works, said the government had a responsibility to create an environment where businesses could operate, grow and expand.
“One of the principal roles of government is to provide an enabling environment on which business is going to thrive, and that is really our key responsibility as government,” Ochieng said.
He described Kisumu as a regional transport hub serving neighbouring counties and said reliable transport and last-mile connectivity were important to the city’s economic activity.
“Kisumu has become a hub a regional hub because if you look at our location, we are more or less one hour away from any other major town: Busia, Kisii, Kericho,” Ochieng said.
He added that improved last-mile connectivity would require various forms of transport, including taxis and tuk-tuks, making access to vehicle financing important for businesses and residents.
The anniversary event brought together business partners, vehicle dealers and other stakeholders involved in mobility financing and asset acquisition.
NCBA operates two branches in Kisumu and said it would continue supporting businesses in western Kenya through asset financing for transport, agriculture, construction and SMEs.
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