Yehu , a leading credit only microfinance institution with a strong presence in the Coast region received a digital credit provider ( DCP) license this year (2026) on tenth April from the Central Bank of Kenya ( CBK). In line with the legal requirements of this development, the lender has acquired a new name – Yehu Impact Limited. To date, CBK has received over eight hundred applications from lenders seeking DCP licenses. In this regard, it has licensed two hundred and twenty seven applicants. Going by an official notice, CBK engagement with DCPs focuses on : business models, consumer protection, as well as fitness and propriety of the proposed shareholders, directors and management. The rigorous process is meant to ensure adherence to the relevant laws and most importantly, safeguard the interest of customers.
According to the CBK guidelines, DCPs lend digitally using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data ( USSD) codes. Their loan products include : education, development, short term personal loans, asset financing and business loans. As at February 2026, the licensed DCPs in Kenya had issued 7.5 million loans valued at Kshs. 133.5 billion.
Speaking on the sidelines of a development organization’s forum in Nairobi, Mr. Adet Kachi, the Chief Executive Officer of Yehu Impact Limited said : “ We are very glad to receive a DCP license from the CBK. “ He added : “ This is not only in compliance with the law, but it also raises the profile of our organization , enhances the standards of our governance and management as well as the reputation of our brand among key stakeholders like customers and investors.”
Yehu has also embraced digitalization. In that regard, the lender launched a mobile banking product dubbed Yehu Cash in 2023. According to Mr. Kachi, the uptake of this product among their customers has been positive.
Establishment
Yehu was founded in 1998 by a visionary, Dr. Rita Lugogo, the then country director of Choice Humanitarian, an international non-governmental organization (NGO), based in the US, the state of Utah. In its early days, it was a project of Choice Humanitarian – Kenya. “Initially, Yehu was a financial services intervention to complement the work of Choice,” said Mr. Kachi in an earlier interview. “We began humbly by organizing our customers to mobilize savings in groups (chamas) ,” he added. The project was based in Mwambalazi; Kwale county.
Product offering
Yehu offers an array of innovative loan products based on the needs of its customers. They include: business, agriculture, education (elimu) and green energy loans. Business loan is the lender’s flagship product because it plays a pivotal role in empowering customers economically. The agriculture loans on the other hand are tied to seasons. Those farming crops pay after harvesting, while the poultry farmers settle their loans after making sales. This minimizes the pressure on servicing them. In the same vein, the elimu loan product is split into two – part of it is disbursed to the parents so that they can purchase uniform and stationery for their children among other needs, while the other goes straight to schools to settle the tuition.
In response to the needs of its customers, Yehu has also developed an innovative product for livestock farmers and traders. Customers are financed to buy cattle and goats at fairly low prices at established markets when there is a drought. They then fatten them, and after three to six months, they sell them at a profit – mainly during the festive seasons when the demand is high.
Yehu is also planning to develop a customized market for fish since it is one of the major economic activities at the Coast. This will involve financing the entire value chain of fish: nets, boats and fish stalls.
The lender’s defining moment was when it put in place a robust management information system. Before that development, its operations were manual. For instance, it would take ten to fourteen days to process loans. Currently, that process takes only two days.
