Kwaata Sente offers eligible Airtel Money users loans of up to UGX 500,000 without requiring a bank account or internet connection, as digital lending expands in Uganda.
Digital lending market expands
The launch comes amid rapid growth in mobile-based lending in Uganda. Bank of Uganda data show that digital loan disbursements reached UGX 4.8 trillion through 306.3 million transactions in the year to December 2025.
The value of loans disbursed increased by 96.1% compared with the previous year, while transaction volumes rose by 352.8%, according to the central bank’s December 2025 Quarterly Financial Stability Review.
The figures point to growing use of digital credit, although the expansion also raises questions about borrowing costs and repayment capacity. The product’s undisclosed charges and repayment terms will therefore be important in assessing what it offers customers.
Bank and fintech partnership
Under the arrangement, Centenary Bank provides the loan capital, Airtel Uganda manages applications, disbursements and repayments through its mobile money platform, while gnuGrid develops customer profiles used in credit assessments.
Godfrey Byekwaso, managing director of Centenary Bank, said the partnership would allow the bank to reach people who need relatively small amounts of money but may not have an existing banking relationship with the institution.
“As Centenary Bank, we believe that this partnership shall open up doors to more people out there who wish to get quick, instant loans to solve quick challenges,” he said.
Kwaata Sente adds to the bank’s existing digital services, which include GonzaPay, CenteMobile, internet banking and agent banking.
Byekwaso urged customers to understand the applicable charges, repayment dates and penalties for late payments before accepting loans. He also advised borrowers to take only amounts they could repay within the agreed period.
“I encourage customers to borrow for genuine need and take only what they can repay within the agreed period. Timely repayment helps build a positive repayment record that may inform future credit assessments,” he said.
Pilot preceded launch
Airtel Money managing director Japhet Aritho said the service was intended to make short-term credit more accessible to customers who might otherwise have to visit a bank or complete physical paperwork.
He identified small business owners managing cash flow and traders needing to replenish stock as potential users of the service.
“For a small business owner managing a cash flow or a trader replenishing stock, timely access to credit can make a meaningful difference,” Aritho said.
David Opio Obwangamoi, chief executive of gnuGrid, said the product had undergone a pilot lasting almost a year before its public launch.
“To me financial inclusion in a practical way is about partnerships, innovations and going beyond the conventional way of doing things and figuring out means to reach the unbanked,” he said.
Opio said the size of Uganda’s unbanked population was part of the thinking behind the product.
“About 16.5 million Ugandans do not have a bank account,” he said, explaining the need to find ways of extending digital credit to people who may not be reached through conventional banking.
The partners did not disclose the interest rate, applicable fees or repayment period during the launch.
Those details will be important to customers comparing Kwaata Sente with other digital credit services, particularly because the maximum borrowing limit does not indicate the total cost of a loan.
