Entrepreneurs to Get Access to Capital

Caption: Paul Lamontage CEO, Enablis Africa and Duncan Kabui, CEO Chase Bank

Enablis East Africa (Enablis) and Chase Bank (K) Ltd. (Chase Bank) today announced the launch of their unique Loan Program under which Enablis entrepreneurs will be able to access loans from Chase Bank with Enablis providing a guarantee that will allow the Bank to consider the entrepreneurs' funding applications favourably.

The Loan Program extends up to a KES 200million loan facility to Kenyan entrepreneurs. Individual Enablis member entrepreneurs will be able to borrow up to KES 20million for their businesses from Chase Bank (Kenya) Ltd, with Enablis providing a 50% guarantee of the total amount borrowed.

Enablis offers qualifying entrepreneurs a platform for networking, capacity building, and access to a pool of advisors and to technology: in short "a support infrastructure". This support infrastructure ensures that Enablis member businesses have a higher survival and growth rate. As a membership based organisation, Enablis selects entrepreneurs and creates an environment for their business success. Teamed into peer groups, members gain access to advisors and receive information on business opportunities. The peer group monitors business progress and supports members' applications for finance.

At the signing ceremony at Chase Bank, Riverside Mews Branch, Enablis Africa CEO, Paul Lamontagne, said, "This agreement is an important milestone for Enablis in East Africa and I am thrilled that we are able to establish this partnership with Chase Bank. Chase Bank joins a long list of Enablis partners not only in East Africa, but throughout the Africa region. Enablis also offers a loan guarantee program in South Africa. Our objective is to make borrowing by Enablis entrepreneurs not only accessible, but affordable within the context of the risk profile of each loan."

"The SME Market is a growing and vibrant sector with a lot of untapped potential. As a financial partner we have allocated resources as well as a strong team to grow our SME business and ensure that we take our entrepreneurs to the next level. As the SME Bank, our Bank's core target is the SME owner who we strongly believe is the driver of this country's economy. We are therefore proud to partner with Enablis to empower our entrepreneurs to enable them make sound business decisions," mentioned Mr. Duncan Kabui, Chief Executive Officer, Chase Bank.

He added, "With our position as the preferred SME Bank, this partnership presents us with a unique opportunity to better serve the SMEs we already have onboard by encouraging them to sign up as Enablis members. This will entitle them to access to personalised learning, mentoring and coaching programmes, as well as networking opportunities and financing to ensure that each develops to their fullest capacity."

Moses Mwaura, Regional Director, Enablis East Africa commented, "This partnership with Chase Bank will give us the ability to fulfill our mandate of providing support to entrepreneurs in all spheres of their businesses. This partnership will allow us to make a substantial difference to the sustainability of Kenyan entrepreneurs in terms of skills development, networking opportunities and finally access to finance."

Chase Bank has been voted the fastest growing bank in Kenya in 2009, with the total assets currently standing at KES 13 billion and customer deposits at KES 10.2 billion.

The Bank's strategy is to focus on exceptional customer service and building strong relationships, with a vision to be "The Premier Pan African Relationship Bank offering one stop financial solutions." In addition to targeting the discerning retail market tier, the bank has a specific focus on the small and medium enterprise segment.

The Bank has eight branches in strategic locations. Of these, six are Nairobi, one in Mombasa and another one in Thika town. Plans are underway to expand the branch network to various locations within the country.

The Head of Assets at Chase Bank, Mr. James Mwaura had this to add "with the gains we envision from the partnership and the guarantee scheme, the Bank will be able to increase its risk appetite towards financing entrepreneurs who are starting out as well as those who have not been able to build on their security portfolio as demanded by most banks. This will ensure that more entrepreneurs have access to much needed funding for their working capital requirements as well as capital expenditure at affordable rates."

ENDS

About Enablis Entrepreneurial Network Africa
Enablis Entrepreneurial Network is a member-based organisation existing throughout the African continent. Founded by Accenture and Telesystem in collaboration with the Government of Canada, the Enablis Entrepreneurial Network is a non-profit organisation (NPO) geared at leveraging and supporting entrepreneurial talent in developing economies. Enablis is driven by its professional network of entrepreneurs, governed by a solid sense of social sharing and networking. Enablis gives these entrepreneurs the opportunity to interact with one another through the Enablis platform and drawn together by their capacity for entrepreneurial success. Enablis facilitates entrepreneurial skills development, access to finance, professional networking and mentoring to ensure economic stimulation and entrepreneurial sustainability in developing countries.

Enablis East Africa currently has two offices in Kenya with one in Nairobi and the other in Kisumu. The Enablis Entrepreneurial Network has close to 300 members in the country.

Contact:
Gavin Seymour
Communications Manager
Enablis Africa
Email: www.enablis.org

Moses Mwaura
Regional Director
Enablis East Africa
Tel: + 254 20 445 4441/2
Fax: +254 20 445 4443
Office: Enablis House, first Floor, Cedar Suite, Riverside Green, Riverside Drive, Westlands, Nairobi
Web: www.enablis.org

Magdalene Mulandi
Senior Communications Officer
Chase Bank Kenya Limited
Tel: + 254 20 2774 250
Fax: +254 20 445 4816
Office: Central Office, Riverside Mews, Riverside Drive, Nairobi
Web: www.chasebankkenya.co.ke