A few days ago, Stanbic bank Uganda unveiled a new campaign dubbed Kiri Supa Dupa which aims at breaking barriers to access to finance for newly-employed individuals, especially the youth.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB) young people face numerous institutional barriers when sourcing funding for their personal or commercial ventures with lack of collateral, limited credit history, and restrictive loan requirements being the main hindrances.
Africa is predominantly youth, and at Stanbic bank, we are resolute in ensuring that our lending products reflect that reality. As part of our sustainability agenda, we are intentional about breaking barriers to youth access to affordable finance.
BANKING ON WOMEN AND YOUTH
The bank is currently running its 2025 Kiri Supa Dupa lending campaign, offering flexible loan options for salaried employees in Uganda, including those who are currently serving employment probation.
With this campaign, salaried Ugandans earning a monthly salary of as little as Shs 150,000 can access unsecured loans amounts of up to Shs 350 million.
“These loans come with competitive interest rates as low as 16% and repayment terms of up to 96 months, allowing the client enough breathing space to get on with their life aspirations. For Ugandans seeking to own a house, Stanbic has packaged home loan offers of up to 100% financing at a 15% interest rate, payable in 25 years.
The campaign also aims to extend its reach to more Ugandans through initiatives like Stanbic for Her, which provides unsecured financing for women entrepreneurs at interest rates between 12.5% and 15.5%.
As good as this sounds, skeptics may question the source of our commitment to youth and women for youth. However, it’s a corporate responsibility that we have to own, to meaningfully support their journey to achieving their financial aspirations and we are doing that through campaigns such as Supa Dupa.
Through Stanbic for Her, women have also made a good case for themselves, with a reputation of being honest and better at paying back their loans compared to their male counterparts. That is why we are banking on women. The application process for the Kiri Supa Dupa campaign has been designed to be user-friendly through Stanbic bank’s online banking platform *290#, the official website stanbicbank.co.ug, or applicants visiting any of the 83 branches countrywide.
Subject to fulfilling the relevant conditions, loans are approved in less than 24 hours. The bank has allocated a huge portion of its loan book to support the un-bankable community through Savings and Credit Society Organizations (Sacco). Therefore, Saccos can access these loans up to Shs 4 billion at an interest rate as low as 10% to facilitate their onward lending to millions of their members.
So, while the campaign has just launched, we anticipate many success stories, particularly among women entrepreneurs who have faced challenges accessing funding. We have revised our policies, paperwork, and restrictions so that more people can access funding and transform their lives.
For those struggling with loans from various institutions, I encourage you to visit any of our branches so we can consolidate that stress into one manageable loan. This way, we can help you pay off your loans and restructure them with more time, allowing you to live a stress-free life. We are here to support all Ugandans, both in formal and informal sectors.
In fact, as part of the Kiri Supa Dupa campaign, Stanbic ensuring that customers get a Supa Dupa customer experience. We have put in place special measures to ensure that customers get only the best service.
When you walk through our doors and interact with one of our representatives, please don’t leave before rating the service you have received. Simply scan the QR CODE at the point you were served and leave a rating.
Lastly, we encourage you to take advantage of this campaign. It’s an opportunity to effectively manage school expenses and invest in future business endeavours. Together, we can build a stronger community and empower the next generation.
The author is Stanbic bank head of personal banking
Excellent offer. Soon on your desk.