Centum credit arm lends civil servants Sh413m as uptake rises
Jafari Credit, a subsidiary of Centum Investment, increased its digital lending to Kenyan civil servants to Sh413 million in the year ending March 2026. The lender attributes this growth to a strategy of targeting borrowers with stable incomes to maintain low non-performing loan rates.
Why it matters
This reflects a broader trend in the Kenyan financial sector where digital lenders are shifting focus toward public sector employees to mitigate credit risk.
Centum Investment PLC's loan arm, Jafari Credit, increased digital lending to civil servants by 10.1 percent to Sh413 million in the year to March 2026 as it deepened focus on lending to borrowers deemed less risky.
Disclosures show Jafari Credit’s disbursements to civil servants rose from Sh375 million in the previous year and Sh267 million in the year ended March 2024, taking the cumulative lending since launch in 2022 to Sh1.4 billion.
Jafari Credit CEO Edwin Munyiri attributed the growth to a strategy that combines disciplined lending with technology-driven efficiency.
“Maintaining a Non-Performing Loan (NPL) rate of five percent while growing our loan book shows that it is possible to scale sustainably without compromising credit quality,” Mr Munyiri said, adding that demand for affordable and accessible credit among salaried workers continues to rise.
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