Kilele Planet - SME Portal and Business Club

CHASE BANK KENYA LAUNCHES KILELE PLANET- THE SME PORTAL AND BUSINESS CLUB 

Kenya, Nairobi, May 3rd, 2012, Riverside Mews – Riverside Drive. Chase Bank Kenya launches Kilele Planet an SME internet portal and Business Club.

Chase Bank Kenya will launch an interactive web based portal and Business Club targeted at their growing SME customer base.  The portal known as Kilele Planet will give SME’s access to lawyers, auditors, tax specialists, trainers and other industry specialists as an avenue for networking and improving their businesses.

Kilele planet will provide SMEs with basic work tools such as website purchase, airtime bundles for office use and access to cloud storage. Club membership will be automatic once one opens a Business club account giving all account holders access to value additions to enhance their businesses.

The Bank has entered into strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Safaricom, Strathmore Business School, USIU, Chartis, Ernst and Young, amongst others, so as to offer preferential rates and services to their customers. The partnerships will enhance the current product offerings and more so the Business club account. The SME value chain cannot be complete without affordable credit facilities whose key function is to help this ever growing sector meet their business targets.

The Bank has realised that SMEs will play a pivotal role in driving vision 2030 and as such has invited Mr Paul Kukubo CEO of the Kenya ICT Board to demonstrate the role technology and SMEs will play in bringing up a vibrant economy. Further, the Bank has invited Dr Gachigi, Director of the University of Nairobi Science and Technology Park who is encouraging the use of science, technology and innovation as a tool for the growth of the SME sector.

Mr Kukubo believes that Kenya is emerging as an entrepreneurial inclined private sector and through the Kenya ICT Board, is gearing towards the 60% automation of SME’s in Kenya.

Dr Gachigi, holds a PHD in Solid State Science from Penn State University and he has founded a student group which is designed to encourage entrepreneurship based on engineering and scientific knowledge among scholars of science and other innovators alike.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics the SME sector employs close to 80 per cent of Kenya’s total workforce and contributes about 20 per cent to the gross domestic product.  It is this potential that Kilele Planet seeks to harness and help grow.

The portal is as a result of extensive research and consultation with SMEs who currently work with the Bank. It is built to accommodate SMEs from different backgrounds and provide them with a platform to build on their eco systems through advertising and giving them easy access to specialists and simple yet necessary tools such as website creation.

Bank Information:

Chase Bank (K) Ltd was incorporated in 1995. The Bank received awards for being the Fastest Growing Bank in Kenya in 2009 and 2010 as well as a special award for product innovation, at the Banking awards 2011 in recognition for their role in creating innovative products for the SME market. In 2012 Chase Bank was named Fastest Growing Bank for the third time and in addition received awards for being the 1st Runner Up Best SME Bank and 2nd Runner up Customer Satisfaction.

The Bank’s key focus is creating memorable customer experiences by ensuring all customer relationships are managed meticulously for mutual benefit. The Bank provides one-stop financial solutions that are customer centric and currently has 20 Branches. Plans are underway to further expand their branch network to various other locations in the country.
Chase Bank (K) is a locally progressive bank with an Islamic window that places a keen focus on the SME.   

Kilele Planet Partners

 
Subsidiary Companies
Rafiki Deposit taking Micro Finance
Genghis Capital
Winton Off Shore Investments
Chase Assurance

Insurance Companies
CIC Insurance
British American
Chartis

Lawyers
Igeria & Ngugi
Mboya & Wang'ong'u

Training firms- Business management, IT, taxes and HR
Altima Africa
Kuza Biashara
Orion Business Consultants
SME Resource Center
Ignite Consulting
Iridium Interactive

Tax advice
Ernest and Young

Universities
Strathmore Business School
USIU

Service Providers
Safaricom Limited – Safaricom Business.

ENDS