Nairobi — Kenyans have accessed a total of Sh23 million from Aspira's Soma Loan facility to support the education of their children over the past year, the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) firm has announced.

According to Arnold Muthama, Marketing Lead at Aspira, learners from 126 schools and institutions of higher learning across the country have benefited from the loan facility, which was launched 12 months ago.

The Soma Loan Facility aims to empower parents, providing them with convenient and affordable finance to offer their children quality education.

Parents or guardians of learners in all educational institutions, from kindergarten to universities, can secure funding of up to Sh500,000 from the Aspira Soma Education Loan facility.

"This facility is designed to address the challenges of paying school fees and ensure funds are readily available when parents, guardians, and sponsors need them," said Mr Muthama.

This announcement comes as schools are set to reopen in the second week of January 2024. Approximately 1.2 million learners are expected to join Junior Secondary School (JSS) in January, advancing to Grade 7, while 1.1 million are proceeding to Grade 8. Additionally, 2.8 million children are anticipated to enroll in pre-primary learning next month.

Aspira Kenya, launched in 2018, provides Kenyans with more choices in purchasing goods and services, ranging from household items and personal electronics to travel and insurance, on credit.

The platform offers free credit assessment, competitive rates, and limits of up to Ksh 500,000 for individuals, while SMEs can draw up to Sh3 million to scale their businesses.