Digital lending grows as loans double to Ksh.110 billion

Digital lending is growing rapidly under the Central Bank’s watch.

The Central Bank’s 2025 Bank Supervision Annual Report shows that in just one year, the amount owed to digital lenders nearly doubled to Ksh.110 billion, as the number of licensed lenders rose from 85 to 195.

The CBK says it is strengthening its oversight of loan pricing, lending practices and customer data as the market expands. 

At the end of 2024, licensed digital credit providers had Ksh.55.2 billion in loans outstanding.

Over the following year, the Central Bank licensed 110 more providers. As the regulated market expanded, so did its loan book.

Outstanding credit surpassed Ksh.100 billion in September 2025 and reached Ksh.110.1 billion by December, almost twice its level a year earlier.

The number of loan accounts also rose, from about 4 million to 6.7 million, an increase of roughly 71 per cent in just a year.

That jump points to a much larger digital credit market, although loan accounts are not the same as individual borrowers, given that one customer can hold more than one loan account.

And this market is no longer limited to short-term personal credit.

The CBK says licensed providers are also offering loans for business, agriculture, education and asset purchases, using channels that include mobile applications and USSD.

The growth has now come under closer Central Bank supervision.

The regulator says it is focusing on transparent pricing, responsible lending and how providers use customer data.