Business Quest 
In a week’s time, children will be going back to school for a new school year which hopefully will see the return of ‘normal’ school terms at the end of the year. The last few years have been difficult, first dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant economic pressures that came with the containment measures and post-pandemic effects.Despite the economic times, there are a few tips or practical ways in which we can financially prepare for this new term.
Save on your expenses
Back-to-school shopping doesn’t have to be a drain on your pocket. If you have an idea of how much you will be spending on your child’s expenses, it’s important to start saving for it early. If you are working with a tight budget, try cutting back on some of your child’s expenses by only buying essential items right away and probably picking up the extra items on sale once the back-to-school rush is over.
When doing your back-to-school shopping, you can also consider payment options that are convenient and save you money. To deliver convenience to parents, Equity has also rolled out Pay With Equity (PWE), a solution that enables customers to pay from any payment channel, whether it is Mpesa, Airtel Money, PesaLink, Equitel or Equity Mobile App, to one Equity till number. Through Pay With Equity, you can send school fees directly to the school’s account and pay for shopping anywhere you see Pay With Equity Paybill or Till Number sign e.g. at supermarkets, uniform sellers, bookshops, etc. All you need is to input the merchant’s Pay With Equity Till Number or school’s Pay With Equity paybill number. Pay With Equity is available when you dial *247# on your line, your Equity Mobile App and Equitel line.
Get A Financial Boost
A new school year however comes with a lot of financial expectations from parents and guardians.
School uniform, textbooks, stationery and other consumables need to be purchased in preparation for the new school year. For some of you, your children are transitioning from one level to another – kindergarten to primary school, or upper primary to junior high school. Then there are those who sat for their KCPE exams who are joining form one who will need boarding school supplies in addition to hefty admission fees.
At a time like this, just coming off the holiday season and January being what we always know it to be – it’s not always an easy time even for those who have good financial discipline. A good way to navigate this and still support our children’s learning needs this year is prudent financial planning bearing in mind the new school calendar. Additionally, it is important to know what kinds of financial solutions are available to you from our financial services providers.
Equity customers for instance can get a cash boost to cater for all their back-to-school needs such as fees payment or back-to-school shopping and related costs. You can access a loan of between Kshs 100 and Kshs. 3million instantly on your mobile phone. This is without the need to fill in any forms or have guarantors. The only qualification is that, you must have an active Equity account and have activated Equity mobile banking by dialling *247# on your current mobile line.
Customers can check their loan limit, apply for instant loans and conveniently monitor their loan balance and make repayments using the USSD service by simply dialing *247# on your current mobile line irrespective of your phone network (Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom or Equitel). You can also access *247# from any type of phone – Kabambe or smart phone.Similar services are also available via Equitel, Equity Online and Equity Mobile App (available for both Android and IOS users).
