Business Perspective: The much needed business loans are now accessible

I have been there and done that. Going through the business loan application process with a financial institution can be a challenging and time consuming task. Preparing the application usually requires a lot of effort and time while you collect the relevant information. But then getting financing is usually critical for the success of any business today, so any business owner who needs financing has to go through this process. The biggest mistake business owners can make at this point is taking it personally and losing their calm. The smart approach is to keep calm and detached. Although easier said than done, this is an important step that may help you get the funding you need. Your next step is to try and find out why the application got rejected. Sometimes, credit officers won’t want to go into details about your rejection because they fear offending the client. However, this information can be critical for your success, so try to persuade the credit officer to give you some details, even though at times it would be like squeezing water out of stone. So you can imagine to my excitement when I was informed that one of the leading banks in the country is giving unsecured loans to small business women. To my curiosity I went to the head office to inquire about what this package is all about, when there I was informed that there was a new package for women who are in business; all they needed to do is open an account with the bank, write a project proposal and submit the same to the bank for approval. Once it is approved the loan is given and the woman is in business! She will be paying back at reasonable interest rate within a period not exceeding two years- this news really excited me that I opened a business account instantly and now am working on my proposal to take to the bank as I sit down to pray and hoping that funds come my way to uplift my business. It has been very frustrating going to the bank to ask for a small loan only to be told that if you have no collateral of a house or car then you won’t be given any loan. Now how many of us own homes or even cars? Leaving the bank I felt light hearted because of this noble action that different stakeholders have come together to help many people like me who have been struggling to put our businesses on the road map, but to be disappointed because of luck of funds. People have had to think twice about how to raise capital for any business venture that they want to undertake. A group of five friends that I know have decided to come together every month and contribute a certain amount of money for eight years so that they can put their plan into action of building housing units without having to borrow so much from their bankers. But then how many people can afford to save such huge amounts of money every month for such a long time in pursuit of a dream project? Very few; because very few have the capacity to do so, it is in this regard that I congratulate Development Bank of Rwanda, Bank of Kigali and all the stakeholders in this project to have finally helped us eradicate poverty and uplifting the living standards of a common man and woman in Rwanda. kayitesius@yahoo.com