One of the leading non-banking financial institutions in the country, Bayport Financial Services said they have budgeted GHC42 million to give out as personal loans to an estimated 61,000 customers this year. Managing Director of Bayport Financial Services Ghana, Kofi Adu Mensah tells Adom Business News that last year the company gave out a total of GHC36 million to 50,000 customers, which was an improvement on that of 2009, which stood at GHC 29.2 to about 42,000 customers. He said currently Bayport has a total of 83,000 customers who access loans up to GHC6,000 from its 28 branches across country. Mr. Mensah noted that Bayport gives away between GHC2.5 and GHC3.2 million in loans every month, but expects the figure to rise this year. “Our customers are mainly salaried workers, particularly teachers and mine workers who do not have collateral so we make arrangements with their employers to make the refund from source,” he said. He noted that provided an applicant’s documents are intact, it takes less than 30 minutes for them to process a loan from the time the applicant submits his or her application. “Our loans are repayable in between one month and five years depending on how much one takes, and the interest rate on each loan also depends on length of the repayment period,” he said. Mr. Mensah admitted that the interest rate on Bayport loans are relatively higher than that of banks, but that is because Bayport also borrows from banks with interests and on-lend to customers. He however noted that among the non-banking financial services, Bayport has one of the lowest interest rates. “We also go to the extent of meeting customers in the hamlets and communities to process their loans for them at no extra cost to them,” he said. Mr. Mensah said besides giving loans the company also invests into corporate social responsibility (CSR), adding that that last year alone Bayport spent GHC100,000 on CSR. He said the company has a scholarship scheme for the brilliant but needy children of teachers and other sponsorship packages for the activities of teachers. Mr. Mensah said the scheme is in collaborations with Ghana National Association of Teachers and has for the past four years benefitted one student each from all the 10 regions every year to provide for their education from SHS to the university level. “Last year we also provide 700 desks to a school in Takwa, a borehole for Aburi Girls, and computers and books and other learning materials worth GHC10,000 to Tanoso Methodist Kindergaten, Primary and JHS schools in the Brong-Ahafo Region,” he said. Bayport Financial Service is jointly owned by Mauritius investors and the Ghana Mine Workers Union, and it has been in Ghana for eight years with 230 Ghanaian employees. Story by Samuel Nii Narku Dowuona/Adom News/Ghana