The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has licensed 29 additional Digital Credit Providers (DCPs), bringing the total number of licensed digital lenders in the country to 281.
In a statement on Wednesday, CBK said the latest licensing was undertaken pursuant to Section 59(2) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act.
The new licenses follow the licensing of 25 DCPs announced by CBK in July 2026.
CBK said it has received more than 900 applications from digital credit providers since March 2022 and has been working with applicants to review their submissions.
The review process has focused on various aspects of the businesses, including their operating models, consumer protection measures and the fitness and propriety of proposed shareholders, directors and management.
The regulator said the process is intended to ensure that digital lenders comply with relevant laws and protect the interests of their customers.
“We acknowledge the efforts of the applicants and the support of other regulators and agencies in this process,” CBK said.
Digital Credit Providers predominantly offer loans through digital platforms, including Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes.
Their loan products include education loans, development loans, short-term personal loans, asset-financing facilities and business loans.
CBK said licensed DCPs had issued 9,596,509 loans worth Sh165.1 billion as of August 2026.
The regulator said other applicants were at different stages of the licensing process, with many awaiting submission of the required documentation.
CBK urged applicants with pending documents to submit them promptly to facilitate the completion of the review process.
The licensing and supervision of DCPs followed concerns raised by members of the public over the practices of unregulated digital lenders.
CBK said some of the concerns included high lending costs, unethical debt collection practices and misuse of customers’ personal information.
The regulator has previously said the licensing framework is intended to bring digital lenders under regulatory oversight and strengthen consumer protection in the rapidly growing digital credit market.
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