Naivas partners with Aspira to roll out new Lipabaadaye program

Leading retailer Naivas Supermarkets has rolled out a credit purchasing program for its customers.

This credit system will enable Naivas customers to acquire household goods and pay for them in instalments over a period of one year in either daily or monthly instalments.

Speaking during the formal launch of the Lipabaadaye program at the Naivas Gateway branch on Mombasa Road, Chief Commercial Officer Willy Kimani said that the program is being facilitated through its partnership with Aspira, which does the credit financing.

“Our research together with that of Aspira, showed that Kenyans aspire to own good quality household goods, including electronics and furniture and need a service that gives them the flexibility to acquire and use the products while paying for them in small affordable amounts.

We settled on Aspira who have a strong technological platform that powers the whole process- from registration, verification to approval and eventual disbursement of the funds to Naivas,” explained Kimani.

He noted that the Naivas Credit Purchasing program is unique because it allows the customers to carry away the goods they have purchased on credit immediately. This is unlike other programs that require the customer to fully pay for the goods before collecting them.

Lipabaadaye credit financing program will boost Kenyans’ capacity to acquire household goods at a time when retail consumption is experiencing a downturn and average basket values have reduced considerably “Household goods have been slow movers for retailers across the board and services like Lipabaadaye offer customers a chance to pay slowly without breaking the bank.

We have structured the payments in a way that will give customers flexibility and ease of paying the daily and monthly instalments while using the products at home,” said Kimani.

Aspira Managing Director Yoeal Haile said that the partnership will bring a significant change to the Kenyan retail market.

“We are honored and very excited to partner with Naivas as the largest retailer with more than 60 branches countrywide and we believe this program will allow Kenyans to plan their lives and finances responsibly.

By giving them this offering, we allow them to pay for products they need without straining their pockets.

We pride ourselves on being a responsible lender and not overextending borrowers which is common in the market,” commented Mr. Haile.

“We will also set credit limits for individuals based on their MPesa or bank statements,” he added noting that the key differentiating aspects of the service are its ease of application, ability to utilize the product upon approval of the transaction and flexible repayment plan customized to suite customer needs.

The program allows for credit between Kshs. 10,000 and 500,000 per customer.

Aspira he explained, is available as a mobile phone application and customers will be required to download from Googleplay and Appstore.