Automotive company unveils women-friendly car financing facility
Increasing number of women are joining sectors like the ride-hailing business.
What you need to know:
- Car prices jumped by up to Sh600,000 between September 2023 and February 2024.
- Increasing number of women are joining sectors like the ride-hailing business.
In an effort to grow the share of its female car buyers, automotive technology company, Autochek, has unveiled a new car-financing model.
The firm says that it has recorded a significant jump in female borrowers keen to use the facility that offers a repayment period of up to two years.
The facility is yet another move that targets the increasing number of women in Kenya seeking to enter the business sector or female entrepreneurs keen to grow their fleets amid the high prices of the units.
According to car dealers, the prices of vehicles jumped by up to Sh600,000 between September last year and February this year.
Car-purchase model
As a result, popular units like Vitz and Mazda Demio are now out of the reach of most first-time buyers.
Autochek has put the number of beneficiaries at hundreds within months of rolling out the facility that offers up to Sh3 million to borrowers, even as it says that there is a growing popularity for the car-purchase model.
An increasing number of women are joining sectors like the ride-hailing business where they rival their male counterparts
Some have also turned to offer delivery services for goods to both organisations and homes.
“Car loans and logbook loans offer an advantage for women through financial options that provide flexibility in payments and loan terms tailored to individual needs and income flows,” the firm says.
Car ownership
“This flexibility enables women to manage their cash more efficiently, ensuring that car ownership remains within reach without causing any financial strain.”
Official data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that only a third of Kenyans in formal employment are women, highlighting the dimmed prospects that have prompted them to turn to entrepreneurship including ride-hailing.
The data further shows that women are also more likely to work in low-paying, informal jobs in the current set-up.
Autochek, which is based in Lagos, entered the Kenyan market in 2021, a year after it was launched to drive car ownership across the West and East Africa regions.
It acquired Cheki Kenya and Uganda in 2021 following its entry into Kenya as it sought to tap into existing players in the car-selling business.
