The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has officially launched ELA (Everyday Life Amplified), a banking product tailored specifically around the realities of women’s financial lives. ELA recognizes that a woman’s financial journey rarely stays in a single lane, moving fluidly between business growth, career advancement, family needs, and personal ambition.

ELA strips away traditional barriers to entry by offering competitive financing, flexible structures, and non-financial support designed to match how women actually live and work:

  1. Unsecured & Secured Capital: Women entrepreneurs can access up to Ksh. 10 million in unsecured working capital or up to Ksh. 20 million on a secured basis, both with 24-month repayment terms.
  2. Interest Rate Discounts: Businesses wholly owned or majority-led by women qualify for a 0.5% interest rate discount.
  3. Maternity Protection: Recognizing major life transitions, ELA includes a three-month loan repayment moratorium for customers on maternity leave.
  4. Personal Financing: Women in formal employment can access personal loans using basic KYC documentation and three months’ worth of payslips.
  5. Capacity Building: Borrowers gain access to tailored business and financial management training, as well as peer networking through the Co-op Bank branch network.

“For years, women have carried an outsized share of Kenya’s small business activity while receiving a fraction of the credit,” said Samuel Birech, Director of Retail and Business Banking at Co-op Bank. “That’s not a gap we can talk our way out of—it’s one we have to lend our way out of. We looked closely at those numbers before we built ELA, and they shaped almost every decision, from pricing to credit assessment. We intend to be judged by how quickly that capital reaches the women who need it.”

Beyond funding, the proposition aims to change the fundamental relationship women have with financial institutions. Branch staff across Co-op Bank’s national network have undergone specialized training to handle holistic financial conversations rather than rigid product pitches.

“We didn’t want another product that asks a woman to fit her life around a loan application,” emphasized Rachael Murage, Head of Women Banking at Co-op Bank. “Walk into any branch, tell us what you’re building, whether that’s a business, a career move, or simply getting through a season of change, and we’ll show you where ELA fits. We’re not just extending credit; we’re making room for how women actually work.”

ELA is now officially live across all 214 Co-op Bank branches nationwide. Interested entrepreneurs and professionals are encouraged to visit their local branch to learn more and sign up.