Keeping Your Friends & Your Finances Separate: Consider This App

This Article is part of our Money254 Partner Series produced in partnership with Timiza Kenya. For more on Money254’s editorial policy, read here.  

If you are gainfully employed, especially with some few years of experience, the expectation generally is that you have a regular income, can pay your bills on time and should have some more left to save and invest. 

But the reality is that our financial lives are in a flux. Sometimes we are doing extremely well, have lots of surplus and can even afford to lend to others with very loose, friendly terms or even heartily give money freely to friends and family. 

Other times despite having full time, even well-paying jobs, we find ourselves hard on cash, needing to stretch each shilling till the next income cycle and even having to borrow to get things done.

And what do you do when you are someone with a fairly good income, have gained some respect from your peers and by all means many of your acquaintances think you are doing well - but you actually need a cash injection? 

Well, one of the easiest ways is to borrow from friends and family. It is conceivable that you have built enough social capital to get some cash from your friends and networks pretty easily and repay once your salary checks in. 

Multiple Income Streams

But this is not always the case, you may find borrowing from friends to be a little embarrassing, they may actually not be in a position to help, or may not act with the urgency you need them to.

So, many people like yourself, in cognisance of the challenges that may come from attempting to raise funds from friends and networks and the fact that once every while there may be an urgent need for cash that may not be available - start side businesses. 

In fact, the reality of today’s world is that having more than one stream of income is no longer a luxury - it has undoubtedly become a necessity. 

Typically for someone already working a full-time job, the ideal extra income source has got to be as close to “passive” as possible. Or at the very least, one that allows you to hire someone to do most of the work so you can continue building your career. 

Now, if you had the foresight to start building an extra income stream - popularly known as a side-hustle - you’ve got to be alive to the fact that capital will always be a major factor in your success or lack of. 

Capital is the funds your business needs to fund daily operations, produce goods or services as well as bankroll growth and expansion. Your own income and proceeds from the business are typically the primary sources of capital you have. 

So then, what happens when you or your side hustle needs a cash injection?  

Taking Advantage of Opportunities

Unlike earlier when all the cash injection you would ever have needed is to sort out personal expenses, emergencies or monies to help out your family and dependents, a business - however small - may need a little more than what you can get from your friends and family.

Specifically, your business needs a more predictable source of cash injection that is closest to being “always on”. That is, a source of money that is always there whenever you need it - without fail. 

And why is this important? 

Because the main reason a business would need cash injection outside the starting capital, is to take advantage of a money-making opportunity. 

If, for example, your side hustle is in supplies - a popular business type in Kenya - you may often need to have money to purchase the stock you need to supply in cash. And it is possible your clients, especially institutional ones will not exactly pay you immediately. 

So, either you need working capital injection to fulfil other orders as you wait for your institutional clients to pay, their cheques to clear etc. or you have landed a lucrative deal and you need more capital to fulfil the order than the money you are used to working with.

And as you can imagine, the amounts needed may be a little higher than your friends and networks may be willing to lend you.

So, where do you get such kind of money?

Actually, what you need is not just money, it is a reliable financial partner that you can borrow from, at reasonable rates, that matches the urgency and is always available.

One such product is Timiza, an instant digital loan service offered by Absa Bank Kenya but available to anyone including those who are currently not Absa Bank account holders. 

Case Study: Timiza for Your Side Hustle  

You know what they say about credit? It’s all about using other people’s money to build your wealth.

The fact that you have a side hustle is evidence enough you are sufficiently motivated to build wealth. But often, you need capital to build wealth - and it is generally true that the more capital you deploy as a means of increasing your wealth, the more likely you are to increase your wealth and the higher will be the magnitude.

But, you need not necessarily have this “capital” in your possession. You only need ready access to it. And then you can channel this borrowed money to your wealth-building endeavours.

Timiza is an instant digital loan product that advances loans of up to a maximum of Ksh150,000 at a competitive rate of 7.25% for 30 days. 

It stands out among short-term instant digital loans available in Kenya as the cheapest loan with the highest limit among digital loans available to everyone regardless of the bank accounts they hold. 

How can a digital loan of this kind power your side hustle and help you successfully separate your personal from business income such that your business grows without affecting your employment income?

1. High Limits

Among digital lenders available to everyone with no restrictions to bank account holding, Timiza has at least three times the highest limit of a loan you can qualify for.

While popular digital lending apps have an upper limit of between averages of Ksh30,000 and a maximum of Ksh50,000, Timiza can advance you loans of up to Ksh150,000.

And from our experience, it seems raising your loan limit is fairly easy for someone with a regular income and a good credit history.

One of our team members tested out the app in the run-up to writing this article and was able to borrow Ksh1,700 on the first loan. After repaying this loan, they now are able to access a loan limit of Ksh46,000.

Now, if you are able to raise your limit to the possible maximum of Ksh150,000 - typically from a good repayment record of smaller Timiza loans - your side hustle has access to this kind of cash at an industry-leading rate to use as capital whenever needed.

Because of the 30-day nature of the loan you are likely to use Timiza for short-term working capital injections into your business, i.e. buying inventory. Before doing so, make sure that your business turnover matches the loan limit - your inventory moves consistently enough within a 30-day window. If it doesn't, consider taking a shorter loan amount as it's likely you will need to cover the repayment from your existing profits or even salary.

Compared to other options in this loan category, Timiza does appear to be a clear winner, whether you are going to use it for personal expenses or especially for money-making business operations.

And as they say, you need money to make money. What they probably didn’t say is that the money doesn’t necessarily have to be yours!

2. Low Cost

In a market where short-term digital loans can have annual percentage rates of even up to 400%, getting a 30-day loan with a rate of 7.25% can be a great option to have especially when your side business may need a cash injection in order to make a profit.

With no paperwork involved and once signed up you have ongoing access to the credit facility, getting Timiza could mean a peace of mind for you to concentrate with your main hustle with the knowledge that any cash injections can be instantly handled at a relatively low cost. 

And to truly see the cost advantage, all you have to do is do some math on a hypothetical transaction your side hustle might get; calculate the anticipated profit and subtract the cost of the loan (7.25%). 

If you are left with a profit after this, know this is money you would never have made had you been unable to raise the capital required to go through with the transaction. 

For example, if you borrowed a Ksh100,000 loan from Timiza, you would need to pay back a total of Ksh107,250. The total cost of taking a Ksh100k loan is Ksh7,250. Now, if you used this Ksh100k working capital to make a profit og Ksh30,000 (30% markup), you will have made a total of Ksh22,750 fully without using any of your money. 

Now, do the math again, this time round with a different digital loan product - that is available to everyone without a requirement to be a bank account holder.  

3. Instant Access

Now this is where Timiza stands out from other financing options that may be typically available to you including Sacco and bank loans. 

Timiza works pretty much like your regular digital loan, specifically in terms of loan request evaluation and disbursement - speed. No paperwork is required, no queues, just you, your phone and the amounts that have been determined you qualify to borrow. 

At the click of a button you have that Ksh70,000 you need to send to your supplier to release the goods to your corporate client - who will pay you in 21 days - some 9 days ahead of the time you need to pay back Timiza with a 7.25% interest rate. And given the fact that you are running a business while also working a full time job, this convenience may come in very handy. 

This is great even when you maybe have a long-term loan that you are servicing with your bank, such as a mortgage etc. and it would take quite the negotiation and paperwork or some additional costs to get approved for a second or third loan.

If you have Timiza, you could skip the trouble and get your business going at the click of a button. 

4. Reputable

And if you are new to digital loans, despite the fact that you are well aware of and appreciate the convenience they offer, you may be a little hesitant to try borrowing a digital loan due to all the bad press over a section of rogue digital lenders. 

To qualify for Timiza, you need not provide your employer details, copies of your payslips or fill elaborate proof of income forms and provide “guarantor” details as some digital loan apps demand of their users. 

Timiza is a digital lending solution offered by a regulated commercial bank in Kenya with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.