BUSINESS |
| The OKash Team led by Ag. Director Peter Kaiga (front row, third from left) in celebratory mood after OKash was named the Fastest Growing Instant App in Kenya during the Digital Tech Excellence Awards held at Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi on Thursday evening. |
Everybody likes to be a winner!
By Ndung'u Wa Gathua.
And not just that, the journey that the winner had to go through to secure that much sought-after victory, the near-heroic feats that allow them to come out on top, the hours of hard work, dedication and discipline that make them victorious, is what sums everything up.
But no one else can perhaps put this better than the renowned American footballer, Emmit Smith, who once said ,“For me, winning isn’t something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream.”
This was the aura that engulfed everything else on Thursday at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi on December 5, 2019, as Mr. Peter Kaiga, the Acting OKash Director, walked to the stage at around 10pm to receive the award of the 'Fastest Growing Instant App' in Kenya during the Third Edition of 'Digital Tech Excellence Awards'.
Amidst an audible needle-fall silence that characterized Mr Kaiga's majestic march to the stage, perhaps signifying how everyone in the room was eager to listen to what he had to say, the Ag.OKash Director would begin easy, talk easy and end easy.
"OKash is about making things easy for all of our dedicated customers who seek our services daily. At OKash we believe and see no value of complicating our customers' situations when they already have a biting financial problem that lead them into borrowing, and above all opt for OKash even when we know there are other alternatives available in the market."
But before then, the-below-40-year-old manager had began his brief but much-lauded speech by thanking all those who nominated and voted for OKash, enabling it to be awarded the best digital mobile lender in Kenya, 2019.
He would then go ahead to narrate the OKash Kenya short but impacting journey to the Kenyan society.
"Two years ago, OKash started operations in Kenya with the goal of empowering millions of Kenyans with an easy, safe, and flexible way to apply for loans with a simple tap from their mobile devices," said Mr Kaiga.
He added: "Today, thanks to the great acceptance from users of our mobile application, we are happy to say that we have become one of the market leaders in online microlending services in Kenya, with our product being among the most downloaded fintech applications in Google Play in Kenya.
"We have great ambitions to continue the development of OKash and expand financial inclusion in the country. We want to continue helping more Kenyans with solving their everyday life expenses, with the best user experience in microlending services in the market."
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| And everything was displayed for all to see in case of doubting Thomases... |
As OKash Kenya continues to strengthen its position in the digital mobile lending market, random customers that we talked to via phone interviews after the award ceremony, were more than optimistic.
"That award is just but a valid and well-deserved confirmation message to all of us who have ever and continue to borrow from OKash.They could not have deserved lesser than that especially a time like this when we are headed to the festive season and the economy of the country is in a standstill and we have no money for the same.
"But with OKash, I know I have little to worry about," John Mwaura, a mechanic at Kabati, Murang'a County says.
Dorcas Mwanzia, a second-hand-clothes seller in MachakosTown says: "If OKash has won, we have won. I have been part of OKash journey since it came into the market two years ago.
"I borrow any time I have a financial need and pay back at the appropriate time. OKash is my lifestyle, I use it to get my basic needs. I am happy for the win and may OKash live long to continue helping people like us. Thumps up."
Lucas Ochieng, a fisherman at Lake Victoria, in Kisumu County would even go further and speak truth to power.
"I hear the government may have plans to control digital lending apps like OKash. We have no problem with that but others and I who are beneficiaries of OKash and its ilk, would not want to hear anything that would come closer to diminishing our chances of obtaining loans efficiently and effectively like we do on OKash. I have never known a bank or any lender like OKash Kenya," said Ochieng.
Many other OKash borrowers from all walks of life whom 254 NewsDay spoke to, had similar success sentiments.
To be part of this victorious OKash experience, you can download the OKash app here and borrow up to Sh50,000 and choose between 12 and 25 days to repay at a fair interest rate.