The Central Bank of Kenya has granted licenses to 29 additional Digital Credit Providers, increasing the total count of regulated digital lenders to 281.
This latest development comes on the heels of a previous licensing round, which took place two months prior and saw 25 firms receive approval. Since assuming supervisory responsibility for digital lenders in March 2022, the regulator has received over 900 applications.
A review of the data reveals the scope of the market. As of August 2026, licensed digital lenders had disbursed 9.6 million loans, totaling KES 165.1 billion, with an average transaction value of approximately KES 17,200.
Why the Licensing Exists For Digital Lenders
CBK introduced the regime after complaints about how some digital lenders operated, from the cost of borrowing and aggressive debt collection to the way customers’ personal information was handled.
READ: How a Digital Lending Loophole Turned a KES 300K Loan Into a KES 500K Payment
Before granting a license, the regulator now reviews an applicant’s business model, its consumer protection measures, and the suitability and integrity of its shareholders, directors, and managers.
Licensed providers can offer anything from short-term personal loans to education, business, and asset-financing facilities, delivered through mobile apps and USSD without a visit to a bank branch.
For borrowers, the growing list gives a way to tell lenders that have cleared CBK’s checks apart from those operating outside the rules, and the regulator continues to warn the public against the latter. It has also urged applicants with incomplete files to submit their outstanding documents.
What a License Does Not Settle
A license does not mean every product is priced the same or comes with the same eligibility rules and repayment terms, so borrowers still need to look at the total cost of a loan and the conditions attached to it before signing up.
The bigger test falls on CBK itself, which now has to keep a close watch on a market that is growing quickly, having moved beyond the task of simply issuing licenses. The process is also far from finished.
READ: CBK Approved 200+ Digital Lenders, But That’s Not the Real Story
With hundreds of applications still being worked through and some applicants yet to complete their paperwork, the count of 281 is likely to keep rising, and a sector that once operated with little direct supervision is settling further into the formal financial system.
