Men Borrow More From Digital Lenders Than Women, Study Shows

Key Takeaways

• 77% of people who took mobile loan say they have failed to repay.
• Men borrow more money than women from digital lenders.
• Borrowers between age 25-44 years have multiple accounts.

Nairobi, Kenya, Feb 26- More men borrow from digital lending platforms as compared to women, a study by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has revealed.

According to CAK, men are registered on multiple digital borrowing platforms as compared to their female counterparts.

“There was multiple borrowing among male than female borrowers with 9.71% of men having more than one account as compared to 7.74% of women. Borrowers aged between 25-44 years held multiple accounts at 11.08% while adults aged 45-64 years recorded 8.01%,” read the study in part.

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Similarly, the survey found that 77% of people who used mobile loans said they had never been able to pay back a loan once. This is similar to the high rate of penalty fees that digital borrowers face.

Subsequently, the study revealed that the price of digital credit was relatively high, with a mean effective Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 280.5% and a median effective APR of 96.5%.The study was conducted in 2021 and was laid bare during the Authority’s inaugural Competition and Consumer Protection Law Digest unveiled last Friday.

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CAK’s Law Digest has been developed in collaboration with the National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law).

It aims to bolster understanding of competition and consumer protection law in the country, expose stakeholders to the authority’s decision-making processes, and further develop jurisprudence.