Mobile Accumulating Savings and Credit Association (M-ASCA) – Chama Kwa Simu
M-ASCA is an exclusive mobile phone based indiscriminate accumulating savings and credit application that aims at empowering people through their social networks to improve their livelihoods. Registered as a SACCO, it targets every adult Kenyan irrespective of their background (youths, women, small scale business people, the unemployed, private institutions etc) who may not hold any collateral but are interested in saving in order to access capital for investment, business start ups, old age savings or any other viable need.
To become the preferred model of financial inclusion in Kenya and beyond.
Extend affordable credit to the financially excluded by nurturing a saving and borrowing culture, encouraging entrepreneurship for self sustenance, empowerment and self employment.
- Access
- Affordability
- Professionalism
- Competence
- Integrity
- Transparency & Accountability
- Teamwork
- Equity
Loans
There are five types of loans
- Ordinary loan- three times savings at 1% with guarantors. Maximum repayment period is 36 months
- Temporary loan – 2/3 of savings with or without guarantors. Interest is 1%. Maximum repayment period is 12 months
- Instant loan – not more than half savings and not more than 10,000. Interest 5% payable in a month. Must be in a group
- Chama loans -three times savings. Must be in a group. Interest 2.5%. Maximum repayment period is two years.
- Group loan - for the group itself. Three times savings, interest 2.5% , maximum reayment period two years
Understanding M-ASCA Model
M-ASCA is a virtual microfinance registered as a SACCO that uses the m-asca platform for all operations.
Key Features
- Targets the unbanked and lesser off in society who may not have collateral for loans but have friends in different parts of the country
- Interest rates are affordable as low as 1%
- paperless and virtual hence no wasting time in meetings and signing
- Convenient saving for low income earners and in outlets near their sources of income
- Savings of amounts as low as Ksh 50 anytime and as many times as one wishes
- Loan repayment in instalments provided that the whole instalment is in by the month.