Consumer finance company, afb, has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Naivas Supermarket that will offer its customers the opportunity to purchase goods on credit at any Naivas stores in Nairobi and throughout Kenya over time. Speaking during the announcement of the partnership, afb’s Managing Director – Cards, Brett van Aswegen said that the company is excited to partner with one of the leading retailers in Kenya, Naivas Ltd, towards offering affordable credit card facilities to the mass market in the country.

“afb and Naivas will introduce the Naivas Retail Credit Card which is an unsecured, revolving credit card facility that allows customers to buy goods in Naivas stores on credit and repay with six (6) affordable monthly payments,” said van Aswegen.

The Naivas Retail Credit Card offers customers an unsecured revolving credit facility of up to Ksh.15, 000 (US$175). Customers can apply in-store for the card and the full application process takes less than 24 hours for customers to be issued with a card.

“The initial credit facility offered to customers will range from Ksh12, 000 to Ksh15, 000 and this will increase over time depending on the customer’s responsible use of credit and repayment period,” added van Aswegen.

Commenting on the deal, Naivas Supermarket Managing Director, David Kimani, said the partnership was crucial for both afb and Naivas in addressing the ever changing needs of customers which in the long run will revolutionize retail by providing unsecured forms of credit.

“The partnership deal with afb is timely and significant and it now means that Naivas customers can buy goods on credit without the need to post any form of collateral and repay with six (6) affordable monthly repayments. Items that customers potentially could not afford immediately are now affordable given afb’s financing support,” said Mr. Kimani.

The Naivas Retail Credit Card is accepted in the XPRES network, which currently has 250 participating afb stores. The Repayments will be made through a variety of channels, including payments at Naivas outlets and through mobile money platforms, Mpesa and Airtel Money.

afb launched a general purpose retail credit card in Nairobi last year that has already grown to an active customer base of over 18,000 card users and a merchant network of over 250 merchants in Nairobi.

Last year in August, it announced partnerships with Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs where afb offers Kenyans the opportunity to shop with branded retail credit cards. afb has also partnered with Airtel Kenya to offer a variety of financial services. afb will be expanding throughout Kenya in the next 18 months as well as a number of other African countries.