Download Across East Africa are 30,000 happy people

BD Special Adverstising Section
Date: 16.08.2013
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SMEs bank dreams on Real people
By EVANS ONGWAE >» [email protected]
Across East Africa are 30,000 happy people
whose lives have been transformed courtesy
of their fruitful financial partnerships with
micro­finance institution Real People. The firm's target
customers are the small, medium and micro enterprises
who find it difficult to access conventional bank
finance.
Real People provides a solution for
such enterprises by making available
loans in the amounts needed through
a simplified, standardized loan appli­
cation procedure with less stringent
collateral requirements.
Mr. Daniel Ohonde, Real People's
CEO, explains that they partner with
people on their journeys through life.
He and his team recognize the unique
challenges and opportunities people
face in their lives. They therefore
share expertise to create brighter
futures, through the responsible
provision of financial services and
products.
He explains that, overall, the Real
People Group has a vision to bring
accessible, affordable financial prod­
ucts that are intended to sustainably
improve lives in sub­Saharan Africa.
As a specialized financial services
provider, it provides credit products
to the low to middle income market.
In East Africa, it has operations in
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Real People banks on its people and
harnesses its intellectual capital to
deliver unique products and services.
The strength of Real People's East Af­
rica business model rests in its ability
to leverage off local knowledge and
expertise in each country in which
it operates in combination with the
provision of technical, financial and
logistical support to each of its opera­
tions provided by the Group.
The micro­finance firm started
with payroll lending in 2006 and
after three years moved to offer Mi­
cro Enterprise Finance, backed with
sound market knowledge and vast
opportunities.
It has grown exponentially and
currently has over 30,000 custom­
ers spread across Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania who are served through a
strategically located branch network
of 20 branches in the East Africa
region.
Yvonne Godo who heads the Busi­
ness Finance unit in East Africa, says
the firm provides finance to business­
es in East Africa where home­grown
businesses make up a large propor­
tion of the economy. Real People, she
explains, is one of the few financial
services players that provide finance
directly to individual entrepreneurs.
"Understanding the complex dynam­
ics of this key target market has en­
abled us to play an active role in build­
ing these businesses ­ the lifeblood of
many African economies," she says.
"We offer Asset Finance to finance
the acquisition of business assets;
Real People brings together a consor­
tium comprising Real People as the
main financier, merchants and other
service providers to facilitate the ac­
quisition of assets," she adds.
Additionally, the firm offers a
General Purpose Facility product that
gives clients a fixed line of credit that
will enable them to draw down only
the amounts of funds needed and
avoid overburdening them with ad­
ditional costs of finance. This enables
them to earn better returns on their
investments.
With these products Real People
aims to offer convenient fast applica­
tion cycle, flexible access to cash and/
or business assets, reasonable pricing
and conditions to its customers and
well as offer loans appropriate to
each business type.
Mr. Phillip Kibet who heads the
firm's Housing Finance unit reiterates
that flexibility and quick turnaround
times for loan applications (including
a maximum of one week) are clear
competitive advantages.
He says: "Our strategy is to be a
financial partner for our customers
as they aim to improve their lives by
providing home construction finance.
We collaborate with Building material
retailers (Hardware shops), providing
finance in­store at the point of sale
with the assistance of knowledgeable
sales consultants who understand
the needs of our customers. Aided
Ipsos Synovate Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
BD Special Adverstising Section
Date: 16.08.2013
Page 1
Article size: 316 cm2
ColumnCM: 70.22
AVE: 0.0
by our quick and easy application market accessible in Kenya and East region.
Further, Real People is also explor­
process, the finance we provide will Africa at large by offering attractive
ing how it can collaborate with other
help thousands of customers live their products and channel expansion.
dreams."
It seeks to partner with other
Real People Kenya is well posi­ institutions in the East Africa region
tioned to ramp up the business over in order to offer more products to its
the coming three to five year period customers and potential customers.
by capturing a significant portion of This will also help it take advantage
the large Enterprise and home finance of the existing opportunities in the
players in the financial sector such
as Savings and Credit Cooperatives
(SACCOs), Insurance companies
and Telecommunication companies,
among others, in order to offer more
products and increase its customer
base.
Ipsos Synovate Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya