Google has taken down hundreds of loan apps from the Play Store in Kenya since its new policy, which requires digital lenders in the East African country to submit proof of license, went into effect in January.
The policy came in the wake of Kenya’s Digital Credit Providers (DCP) regulations last year, which required entities that provide loans digitally to acquire a license to operate from the Central Bank of Kenya.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear how many loan apps had been blacklisted, but a spot check by TechCrunch today showed that nearly 500 apps previously in the Finance category on Play Store, including MoKash and Okash, had been taken down.
In early February, TechCrunch counted 657 apps in the Finance category, which lists loans, banking and investing apps amongst others. Today, only 198 apps are listed in the category.
By January, only 22 digital lenders had received a license out of the 381 that…
