The pioneering model could unlock up to half-a million shillings in business loans to individuals. Co-op Bank director of youth financial services Joel Kaba, Acorn Holdings Limited CEO Edward Kirathe and Absa Bank Kenya MD and CEO Abdi Mohamed jointly launch Zinduka Graduate Enterprise Programme yesterday/ HANDOUT THE Co-operative Bank and Absa Bank have unveiled Sh1 billion funding programme targeted at varsity students, in a deal with Acorn Holdings Limited that could shape the next generation of Kenya’s entrepreneurs.
This involves affordable student accommodation and start-up capital, in a pioneering model that could unlock up to half-a million shillings to individuals. Acorn Holdings Limited is Kenya's vertically integrated provider of student housing, a purpose-built student accommodation developer, operator, and asset manager.
It currently operates 13,000 beds across 15 properties in 10 locations, with a further 7,000 beds in development, under the Qwetu and Qejani brands. The partnership with Co-op and Absa has seen the birth of “Zinduka Graduate Enterprise Programme”, an innovation designed to enable students to gain access to affordable accommodation through unsecured housing loans and start-up capital.
The programme is expected to support between 5,000 and 10,000 new enterprises annually, with eligible graduates accessing business loans ranging from Sh200,000 to Sh500,000, empowering young entrepreneurs to start, grow, and sustain businesses while contributing to Kenya’s economic development and job creation.
The programme is aimed at addressing two key challenges facing university students, the first being access to quality and affordable accommodations. Kenya has approximately 500,000 students enrolled in universities, but fewer than 40,000 university-provided beds, leaving 460,000 students in informal, unregulated makeshift accommodation that is unsafe, poorly serviced, and more expensive than they appear.
The second challenge is access to enterprise funds upon graduation. Only an estimated 15 per cent of graduates secure formal employment, leaving the majority to create their own livelihoods, often without business skills, a financial track record, or access to startup capital.
Zinduka is hence designed to address both problems through a single, connected programme.