A loan helped to provide last mile electricity, sanitation, clean cooking & water solutions to rural East Africans during COVID-19 and beyond.


Bidhaa Sasa's story

Rural households in East Africa lack access to electricity, clean water, sanitation and modern agricultural tools. Most rural families use dirty kerosene for light, often travel on foot to charge their phones, cook on smoky open wood fires and rely on unsafe water.

Bidhaa Sasa (“Products Now” in Swahili) is a last mile distribution and asset financing enterprise that sells products across four categories : 1) clean cooking (cookstoves, LPG gas, cooking accessories) 2) clean lighting (solar lamps, home systems, radio lamps) 3) smart agricultural tools (canvas, grain silos, sprayers) and 4) water and sanitation (water tanks and sanitation lamps). The company employs a 70+ person workforce.

Bidhaa Sasa reaches over 60,000 East Africans with its products, 70% of which are women. An impact study conducted by 60 Decibels found that three-quarters of Bidhaa Sasa’s customers report their life has “very much improved” due to the company’s services.

This loan of $200,000 will be used to maintain Bidhaa Sasa’s operations during COVID-19 and to provide more products to a greater geographical area. This is Bidhaa Sasa’s second loan through the Kiva Labs: Social Enterprise program. View their previous loan here.


This loan is special because:

This loan is special because it will provide last mile access to clean lighting, cooking, and water, which significantly improves quality of life for rural families.



Loan details


Lenders and lending teams




Loan details