Kenya - Jitegemea Credit Scheme

Targeting the slums of Nairobi

Oikocredit project partner Jitegemea Credit Scheme (JSC) concentrates its microfinance services on those in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Founded in 1998, the microfinance institution provides small loans to 8,000 people who had no access to traditional forms of credit. More recently, the organization has expanded to rural parts of Kenya, to provide similar services to the people living there. JSC has become an active participant in measuring its social performance – that is, following the effects microloans have on the lives of clients. JCS has excelled in adapting its products and services to meet the client needs.

In mid-2010, Oikocredit provided training for several partners to pilot improvements in Social performance management. JSC became involved, and has worked with Oikocredit to improve its tracking and monitoring of clients economic progress, by improving such operational elements as the Management Information Systems. The development of Management Information Systems is particularly important so that JSC has the capacity to document social performance data and analyse it, as well as keep track of important financial information. JSC has trained its loan officers to obtain a better insight into the real lives of clients by getting to know them socially, rather than simply disbursing a loan.

One client of JSC is Margaret Njoroge, the owner of a car washing service that now employs 15 people.
“I started this business in 2005 as a very small business because we were using buckets to wash our cars and our friends’ cars,” said Margaret. A loan from JSC helped her buy machines to increase the efficiency and quality of the work, and allowed her to employ staff and diversify her business by moving into carpet cleaning.

At the end of 2010, JCS carried out a social audit using the Social Performance Indicators tool, with the assistance of Oikocredit. The institution scored 60% out of the possible 100, performing particularly well in targeting the poor and adaptating its products and services to meet client needs. JSC has been an Oikocredit project partner since 2003. The partnership began with a loan of 14.4 million KES in 2003, followed by a loan of 50 million KES in 2008. Another loan of 200 million KES was approved earlier this year, and will soon be disbursed.

Date last revised: 13-4-2012

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