The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Kenya’s central banking authority, recently granted Small and Micro Enterprise Programme (SMEP), a nonprofit financial institution established in Kenya in 1999, a license that will allow SMEP to take deposits from the public. Although this is the fourth such license granted to a Kenyan microfinance institution (MFI) by CBK, the other three MFIs that already have licenses reportedly are struggling to collect deposits. Created by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), a country-wide network of Christian communions and institutions, SMEP reportedly is looking to gain an advantage from the goodwill of church organizations to collect deposits and grow its loan portfolio. In 2009, SMEP reported to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, a gross loan portfolio (GLP) of USD 12.4 million, total assets of USD 17.5 million, return on assets (ROA) of 1.01 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 4.72 percent [1].
By Julie Moksim, Research Associate
About Small and Micro Enterprise Programme (SMEP): SMEP was registered in 1999 as an independent, nonprofit financial institution by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), a country-wide network of Christian communions and institutions. Prior to this, SMEP operated as the Small Scale Business Enterprise (SSBE), which was established in 1975 under NCCK to feed Nairobi’s urban slum dwellers. SSBE transitioned into SMEP when the program shifted its goal to helping poor people become more self-sufficient. SMEP’s mission today is to alleviate poverty in Kenya by providing financial and nonfinancial services to underserved individuals. In 2009, SMEP reported to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, a gross loan portfolio (GLP) of USD 12.4 million, total assets of USD 17.5 million, return on assets (ROA) of 1.01 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 4.72 percent.
[1] Business Daily Africa: “Fourth MFI Gets Regulator’s License”, by George Ngigi, December 21, 2010, http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Fourth MFI gets regulators licence/-/539552/1075792/-/10x62ic/-/
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: Small and Micro Enterprise Programme (SMEP)
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=SMEP
MicroCapital.org Article, November 15, 2010: Standard Chartered Kenya Loans Small and Micro Enterprise Programme (SMEP) $3.75m to Assist Microfinance Clients, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-standard-chartered-kenya-loans-small-and-micro-enterprise-programme-smep-3-75m-to-assist-microfinance-clients/
MicroCapital.org Article, April 22, 2010: Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Licenses Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) as Deposit Taking Microfinance Institution (MFI), https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-central-bank-of-kenya-cbk-licenses-kenya-women-finance-trust-kwft-as-deposit-taking-microfinance-institution-mfi/
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at:
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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