The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced the licensing of an additional 27 Digital Credit Providers (DCPs).
In a statement on Thursday, September 4, CBK said the licensing is pursuant to Section 59(2) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act (CBK Act).
This brings the total number of licensed DCPs to 153, following the licensing of 41 DCPs announced in June 2025.
“CBK has received more than 700 applications since March 2022 and has worked closely with the applicants in reviewing their applications,” read the notice in part.
The apex bank stated that other applicants are at various stages of the process, largely awaiting the submission of the required documentation.
“We urge these applicants to submit the pending documentation promptly to enable the completion of the review of their applications,” the bank noted.
Reports from the public regarding unregulated DCPs can be sent to [email protected].
CBK Licenses 27 Digital Credit Providers
According to CBK, the licensing and oversight of DCPs, as previously indicated, were prompted by public concerns over the predatory practices of unregulated DCPs, particularly their high costs, unethical debt collection practices, and misuse of personal information.
CBK stated that the focus of the engagements with DCPs has been inter alia on business models, consumer protection and fitness and propriety of proposed shareholders, directors, and management.
This according to CBK is to ensure adherence to the relevant laws and importantly that the interests of customers are safeguarded. We acknowledge the efforts of the applicants and the support of other regulators and agencies in this process.
DCPs predominantly carry out their lending activities digitally including through Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes.
Loan products include education loans, development loans, short-term personal loans, asset-financing and business loans. As at June 2025, licensed DCPs had granted 5.5 million loans valued at Ksh. 76.8 billion.
Also Read: 11 Banks Risk Losing Licenses as CBK Issues Warning
Here is the full list:
- Abito Limited
- Aspire Lending Ltd
- Ajax Credit Kenya Limited Aspire Lending Ltd
- Bossrich Credit Limited
- Brisk Credit Limited
- Easy Asset Management Limited
- Easyways Credit Limited
- Elevate Credit Limited
- Finseil Limited
- Futureinno Digital Tech Limited
- Hanis Capital Limited
- Lasiri Capital Limited
- Leaf Credit Limited
- Little Limited trading as SpotIt
- Mayflower Capital limited
- Mednow Capital Limited
- Moto Hope Capital Limited
- Mwananchi Credit Ltd
- Mular Credit Limited
- Musoni Capital Limited
- Otas Credit Limited
- Platinum Credit Limited
- Pembeni Cash Ltd
- Reazilla DCP Limited
- Suffice Ltd
- Unidirect Ltd
- Zaidi Pato Limited
Also Read: Kenyan Banks List Six Benefits of New Loan Formula for Borrowers
CBK Moves to Strengthen Oversight as Digital Credit Usage Surges in Kenya
This follows CBK’s invitation in August this year for public views on its newly drafted Non-Deposit Taking Credit Providers Regulations 2025, which aim to tighten oversight of credit providers outside the traditional banking sector.
CBK first sought to regulate the digital lending business in 2021 through the CBK Amendment Act 2021, which established a licensing and regulatory framework for digital credit providers (DCPs) that had previously operated without regulation.
In a significant step forward, CBK released the Digital Credit Providers Regulations in 2022, leading to the licensing of 126 DCPs; however, concerns about the framework’s effectiveness persisted.
The 2024 CBK FinAccess Survey further revealed that microfinance institutions—including digital lending apps—recorded the fastest growth in usage between 2021 and 2024, rising from just 1.7% to 8.8%. This growth outpaced the uptake of bank and SACCO products during the same period.
An estimated 2.4% of Kenyans—roughly 668,491 people—had accessed credit via mobile apps, while another 6.2% (1.75 million individuals) relied on hire-purchase or buy-now-pay-later services such as Lipa Mdogo Mdogo. Overall, credit access increased from 60% to 64% over the three years, largely driven by mobile and app-based digital lending.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
