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Paddy Micro Investment’s PesaPata Quick Loans are a Scam

There’s a new and crude way to make money in Kenya. Many people are suffering out here, and even CRB Kenya, the Credit Reference Bureau, may be unaware, since it is through them that many are learning of the scam. The core of the problem remains the fact that we are very open and careless with personal information in Kenya.

You may not have heard of a company called “Paddy Micro Investment”. They are a micro-loaning solution. And they promise to make you rich if you sign up, give them at least 5000 shillings and become one of their agents. They run a shortcode *269# that welcomes you to Pesapata.

What Paddy Micro Investment does is offer loans. So ideally an agent signs up, by investing some money like 5k, then they go out and seek people to give loans to. The loans given are supposed to be paid back on a weekly basis. There’s also a smartphone app, and the shortcode above.

Such investment groups are all over the country. The claim to offer people quick money at sometimes exciting, sometimes exorbitant fees.

Look at their bad logo from Facebook:

Pesapata

The Credit Reference Bureau is known in Kenya to many as the place where your name may end up if you don’t pay your Safaricom MShwari Loan. If you’re listed on CRB it means, for a period not exceeding 5 years, you will not be able to access any loan from any source.

If you’re a university graduate, or anyone else for that matter, who has never defaulted any loan, you are sure that you cannot in any way be listed on CRB. So when applying for a job you’ll want to get your CRB clearance certificate and get on with life. Until you meet “Paddy Micro Investment” and the claim that you owe them Ksh. 12,000.

Many Kenyans learn about Paddy Micro Investment for the first time when applying for CRB clearance. You are told that you owe them money, yet you’ve never heard of them.

On their Facebook Page (and even on Twitter mentions) very many Kenyans are busy complaining about how they have found themselves listed by CRB as loan defaulters of a company they’ve never heard of, or illegally after paying and clearing their loans.

Here are some screenshots of some of the few complaints I’ve read (Note that this information is public on the page, so I’m not intruding on anyone’s privacy)

Here’s a collection of some Twitter complaints:

The worst thing about this is that it is indirectly backed by CRB. If you don’t have the CRB clearance you’re done. And if a loaning facility, even if it is a scam facility like Paddy Investment, claims that you have defaulted a loan, then you’re done. You have no option but to cough out the amount they claim you borrowed.

So how do they have your details if you’ve never borrowed from them?

Kenya has a big problem in terms of Privacy.

Paddy Investment from the videos on their page claim that their agents go round looking for people and offering them loans. To get a real loan they need your phone number and Identification Card Number. But to claim that they’ve given you a loan, all they need is your ID number.

Your ID number can be

  1. Guessed – made from the blues or
  2. Picked from MPesa or other mobile money agents

Here’s an example of someone complaining:

Pesapata

So it means, either Paddy Investment is out to make money from innocent Kenyans by claiming them as defaulters or their Agents go out and take loans using people’s names and IDs and then list innocent Kenyans as defaulters. Both scenarios could be true.

The issue now is WHAT CAN KENYANS DO?

Paddy Investment has over 23,000 likes on their Facebook page. Their Website http://www.paddymicro.co.ke/ is currently not available. But https://pesapata.com/ is available, though last updated in 2016. Their phone number 0707000222 goes unanswered.

The team behind Paddy Investment as of a July 2015 screenshot lists the following individuals:

Pesapata

Paddy Micro Investment had good days back then when they were featured on many magazines and online publications including:

  • Techmoran – here
  • CIO – 2013 top firm in Financial Sector
  • How we made it in Africa – here
  • African business review
  • Niaje and
  • Microfinance Africa

14 Comments

  1. Am Marion your system are not working l want to repay a loan of 1087 who will be responsible of the added amount from tomorrow since it is not my mistake. This is not the first time you are doing this to me. This is cooruption last time l paid extra cash l was no suppose today answer me.

  2. You have listed me in CRB and I don’t understand because I have never felt with you,on which no can I use to reach you for clearance purposes?

  3. I have the loan with you but your agent have more than harrased me i pay my loan on monday amounting to 2600 i was unable to pay on monday on tuesday he came at my work and demarded i pay 500 as a fine then i send 2k which i has as he pick the balance later on his mpesa and he came for the 600 later total i ave paid 3100 this week now he is still demading another 500 ati kuna fine ingine and he is even caming to my work to threaten me infront of clients

  4. Comment: you listed me on crb and i cleared your loan is it fair that and am still your customer y please clear my name

  5. so, Grace Neema, how do i follow-up coz the number which borrowed is indicated on CRB statement

  6. hi i was not even aware of paddy but just got an sms from you that i have a loan of 120 shillings how did this happen or can you please assist which number took this loan

  7. Pesapata is not a scam bro. Anyone can use anyone’s details anywhere to get a loan. Even Mpesa or even a bank. What we should concentrate on is how they must improve the security in future.

  8. It’s a most unfortunate thing to find yourself listed in CRB for a default you know nothing about.For those of you who found yourself in this situation,follow up,you will get to know the culprit,I speak to you from a point of knowledge . The main reason you are in this situation is that someone very close to you,your son/daughter brother,sister,wife,husbandetc used your id and your safaricom line to access the platform and borrow .This is a honest platform,I can tell you that for free..Once every week you are reminded,when you installment is due.upto to this point,I wonder how whoever used your line managed to keep you away from those sms.My experience on this platform has been great,I have lent,borrowed and earned on this platform,sincerely speaking all hardworking persons looking for a job,needs to join us and realize their goals.Ihave no complaints at all.

    1. so, Grace Neema, how do i follow-up coz the number which borrowed is indicated on CRB statement

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