Crown Paints inks customer financing deal with I&M Bank – Business Daily
I&M Bank CEO Kihara Maina (left), with Crown Paints boss Dr Rakesh Rao (centre) and head of sales Bhavesh Gandhi during the partnership agreement signing between the manufacturer and the lender. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG
Crown Paints and I&M Bank have inked a deal that will see the lender provide unsecured lending for the paint maker’s dealers for orders of up to Sh10 million.
The listed manufacturer and the tier-one bank said the deal that is targeting small and medium enterprises will provide the dealers with working capital and the facilities will be repaid after 60 days.
The financing package will also be extended to customers for up to Sh500,000, also repayable after two months, and is open to those who buy paint exclusively from Crown.
Paint customers that are members of Team Kubwa Sacco –Crown Paints’ sacco for painters – will enjoy longer repayment periods of between 12 and 24 months.
“We believe that this solution will go a long way in creating the necessary headroom for our dealers and customers to be able to achieve their business goals,” Crown Paints chief executive Rakesh Rao said yesterday.
Team Kubwa Sacco was unveiled in 2020 targeting those on the paint manufacturer’s loyalty programme to help them develop a savings culture.
Under the deal with I&M, Team Kubwa Sacco members will receive loans ranging from Sh150,000 to Sh500,000.
Mr Rao said the initiative will open credit lines for Crown customers who might have challenges accessing working capital from other financiers.
I&M Bank chief executive Kihara Maina said that driving business growth through various revenue streams is a key strategy for the bank, hence the decision to provide the unsecured credit to Crown Paints dealers and customers.
“We seek to grow the loan book quality and portfolio, by building quality interest-earning assets via partnerships such as these, especially those that support the Micro, small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) segments of our market,” he said.
He added that the stock financing options for Crown Paints dealers will be offered through a digital platform.
In August, Crown Paints said it had moved to stocking raw materials for six months from the previous two that had been the norm on changing supplier demands.
Demand for home improvement products shot up by 20 percent over the past two years on Covid-19 lockdowns that had made people rethink the spaces they work and live in.
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