Government hospitals in the 47 counties in Kenya are set to receive medical equipment worth over Sh7 billion thanks to financing from Standard Bank which trades as CfC Stanbic Bank in Kenya.
The first of its kind in Kenya, the financial package will go towards the purchase of CR Systems, Digital General X-ray units, mammography units, Mobile X – ray units, C – Arm units, OPG units, and Ultra Sound units which will distributed in hospital across the 47 counties.
“This transaction is a good example of how public/private sector partnerships can move our country forward. Traditional forms of collateral are often not available for such ventures, thus limiting access to needed funding for the sector but we are delighted to bring our vast experience in structured financing to the table to facilitate this transaction in partnership with General Electric. The demand for health care is always growing and this will go a long way in ensuring that our health-care practitioners have the tools they need to best care for their patients,” said Mike Blades, Regional Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at CfC Stanbic Bank.
The deal will help the Ministry of Health in procuring state of the art medical equipment for the whole country while vastly improving the infrastructure needed to improve patient care, make treatment more widely available and improve throughput.
“The healthcare sector is poised for robust growth on account of a raft of support measures announced by the government and our decision to fund this project indicates that we have confidence in the government’s policies regarding the health sector,” Mr. Blades added.
“Most hospitals, especially those at the county levels lack critical equipment necessary to detect and treat or manage some of the major diseases facing the people of Kenya today. We are delighted to bring our expertise in the procurement of medical equipment that guarantees innovative and state of the art equipment that will make it easier for county hospitals to deal with such diseases effectively,” concluded Mr Blades.
Structured Finance is the advancement of funds to entities to finance inputs, production and the accompanying support operations and is especially employed when conventional sources of loan security are not available or are insufficient.