Sidian Bank is now a third lender behind Safaricom’s Fuliza overdraft, adding to NCBA and KCB Bank as the service passes Sh1 trillion in disbursements for a six month period.
Safaricom’s results booklets now name Sidian as a third Fuliza lender alongside NCBA and KCB, although the annual report still lists two. The half year report for the six months to September 30, 2026, also describes the operator as Safaricom Kenya rather than “the Group”. The annual report for the year to March 2026 named only NCBA and KCB. That places Sidian’s entry somewhere between the publication of that report and Safaricom’s November 5 results.
Sidian already funds Fuliza ya Pochi
Sidian was already tied to Safaricom’s lending. Fuliza ya Pochi, the overdraft for small traders on the Pochi la Biashara platform, runs with Sidian as the underlying financial provider and opened credit to more than one million qualifying merchants.
Under that product, the credit is underwritten and funded by Sidian, and the borrower’s contract is held with the bank. It is not clear from the filings whether the booklet entry reflects that product, the retail Fuliza overdraft, or both. Safaricom has not published a separate statement on the retail arrangement.
Sidian is a smaller lender than its two partners. It reported a profit after tax of Sh607.03 million for the quarter to March 31, 2026, up 9% on a year earlier. John Okulo joined as chief executive from KCB Bank Kenya on May 1, 2026. Khusoko has profiled the bank’s small business lending push and its expansion in the Mt Kenya region.
Fuliza lending doubled in a year
Fuliza revenue rose 86% to Sh4.9 billion in the six months to September 2026, and borrowers nearly doubled to 17.2 million. Customers repaid Sh1,153.3 billion against Sh1,157.5 billion lent, a repayment rate of 99.6%. That compares with 102.4% a year earlier.
Average borrowing is shrinking as users grow. The average overdraft fell to Sh192.10 from Sh254.60 a year earlier. Safaricom’s share of each shilling lent is also smaller. It earns about Sh4.20 for every Sh1,000 Fuliza lends, against about Sh10.80 in the half year before the fee cuts of October 2022. Khusoko reported those cuts when Safaricom, KCB and NCBA lowered charges by 40% on small overdrafts.
Fuliza now drives Safaricom’s credit income
Fuliza accounts for roughly 71% of revenue from Safaricom’s six lending products. Credit revenue grew 54.4% to Sh7 billion, while overall M-PESA revenue grew 13.6% to Sh100.07 billion. Lending is outgrowing payments.
The service has also drawn legal attention. A class action over Fuliza fee disclosures has been certified, opening the case to millions of current and former users. Safaricom has said users get a 48-hour interest-free window on Fuliza ya Pochi before daily fees apply.
The growth has long carried a caution. In 2019, acting chief executive Michael Joseph said there is a “merry go round of borrowing” and that customers risk losing control.
Fuliza launched in January 2019.
