Metropol Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) has entered into a deal with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) to enhance the collection, analysis, and application of gender-disaggregated data, with a key focus on Women-led Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (WMSMEs).
The partnership follows a competitive bidding process involving all three licensed CRBs in Kenya, with Metropol emerging as the successful bidder.
The deal was signed at KBA offices, with the two institutions looking at promoting financial inclusion by addressing the data gaps that hinder women entrepreneurs’ access to finance.
Metropol CRB Chief Executive Gideon Kipyakwai said many women-led businesses operate in the informal sector and face persistent barriers such as limited access to information, technology, and financing.
Kipyakwai said there’s now the need for reliable sex-disaggregated data to support the development of financial services tailored to women’s economic empowerment.
“Currently, many Financial Service Providers (FSPs) neither collect nor utilize sex-disaggregated data consistently, making it difficult to design solutions that reflect the realities of women-owned MSMEs,” said Kipyakwai.
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“This partnership with KBA will leverage Metropol’s robust data infrastructure to provide centralized, credible access to MSME market data across the country.”
The initiative is expected to cover WMSMEs nationwide, offering data-driven insights to help financial institutions better understand the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.
KBA Chief Executive Raymond Molenje said the deal will dwell into scaling up the provision, access, and practical use of sex-disaggregated data among its member banks to foster a more inclusive financial ecosystem.
“We will use leverage Metropol’s data to improve Kenya’s financial health. We are focusing on all businesses in the credit space but with this new deal, women-led MSMEs will have our full support to create more employment and make Kenya’s economy more vibrant,” said Molenje.
Dr. Samuel Tiriongo, Director of Research and Policy at KBA, praised women borrowers for their strong credit discipline and noted that despite this, women have historically been underserved in credit access.
He described the partnership as both timely and transformative.
“Metropol’s involvement will reduce the data burden on financial institutions while enhancing accessibility, deepening market insights, and ensuring strict adherence to data security standards,” said Tiriongo.
Metropol CRB already serves as key aggregators of MSME credit data from banks and other financial entities, making the company an ideal partner for such a gender-focused data initiative.
