Business Daily The banker who loaned to women when no one else would
Feb 13, 2026
Jennifer Riria, Kenyan microfinance pioneer who built Kenya Women Finance Trust into a bank for low-income women. She recalls rural roots and teenage motherhood shaping her drive. She explains group lending, compulsory savings and strong repayment culture. She talks about scaling to a regulated bank and the barriers women still face in accessing finance.
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Teenage Mother Who Kept Studying
- Jennifer Riria became a teenage mother and took her baby with her to university to continue studies abroad.
- That experience pushed her to persist with education despite poverty and scarce support.
Building Loans By Going To Women
- Jennifer revived a collapsed women’s finance trust by going to villages and forming lending groups.
- She trained women, made saving compulsory and started tiny incremental loans that grew with repayment.
Scale Loans Gradually After Repayment
- Make microloans incremental and tied to demonstrated repayment to build trust and capacity.
- Require compulsory savings and increase loan sizes only after borrowers prove they can repay.