What is Loan Appraisal?

Loan appraisal is the process by which a SACCO assesses a loan application: whether the member is eligible, what their deposits support, whether the repayment is affordable against their income and existing deductions, whether the guarantors offered have capacity, and, for a business loan, what the business actually earns.

A real Kenyan example

A member applying for a business loan is asked not only for their deposit history but for evidence of what the business turns over, because the repayment has to come from somewhere.

Why it matters

Members often prepare only for the deposits question and are unprepared for the affordability and income questions, which is where business-purpose applications most often stall. The deposits set the ceiling; the appraisal decides what happens underneath it.

How Veira helps

A business loan appraisal asks what the business earns, and most small Kenyan businesses answer with an estimate because an estimate is all they have. A business running on Veira has a recorded sales history instead, with business money kept separate from personal money, which is a document you can hand to a loan committee rather than a figure you assert.

FAQs

What does a SACCO look at in loan appraisal?
Typically eligibility and membership period, deposit balance and history, any existing SACCO loan, affordability against net pay and existing deductions, guarantor capacity, and for business purposes, evidence of business income.
How long does SACCO loan appraisal take?
It varies by SACCO, by product and by whether the application is complete. Ask your SACCO for its stated turnaround and what makes an application complete, because incomplete applications are the usual cause of delay.
Why was my SACCO loan rejected despite having deposits?
Common reasons include the affordability test rather than the deposit test binding, an existing loan already drawn against the same deposits, guarantors without sufficient capacity, or an incomplete application. Ask the SACCO which test the application failed, since the remedies are different.
What documents help a business loan application?
Evidence of what the business actually earns over time carries more weight than a single figure: a consistent sales record, separated business and personal money, and a trading history that covers several months rather than a good week.

Related terms

See all 72 terms