Bank to set up credit guarantee scheme

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta admires a gift made of beads by Ms Glory Mwilaria. Left: Ms Mwilaria, the Daglo Arts proprietor, during the interview in Meru town on December 17, 2015. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL 

ABDUEL ELINAZA

CRDB Bank has established a credit facility where SMEs will access the fund through Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO), guarantee.

The credit line, some 1.0bn/- ,is on pilot stage where seven regions are on scheme targeting ongoing businesses which will be under SIDO’s radar.

According to SIDO Director General Eng, Omar Bakari the project is dubbed SMEs Credit Guarantee targets those at manufacturing sectors.

“This is one of SIDO strategies to uplift SMEs status by offering hassle-free loan guarantees,” Mr Bakari said. He said, however, entrepreneurs will receive their loans once SIDO approve their proposals, after looking it at four dimensions.

SIDO, once receiving the application forms will work in collaboration with CRDB to access the applicant’s merit-such as previous loan repayment discipline, transparency in giving information prior to loan guarantee.

SIDO said at the moment they have received applications worth some 600m/-from seven regions namely Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Singida, Mbeya, Morogoro and Dodoma.

“The problem is out of the 600m/- applied, we have discovered some have loan default records”. “We, especially CRDB, have scrutinised these applications closely to weed out defaulters,” Eng Bakari said.

The idea of SMEs Credit Guarantee is to fortify the status of the enterprises that are operational but self-efforts to self-lift from the current situation failed due to small working capital.