Bayport Financing

Bayport financing has become a common term in Africa.  Bayport Financial Services is active in South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda and Ghana.  Our easy access to affordable credit has made Bayport financing a safe way to take charge of your future.  We are the leading provider of responsible credit in most of the abovementioned countries.  We believe that a society should be educated and healthy to reach its true potential; therefore, Bayport is involved in many community upliftment projects in all these countries, and particularly in the healthcare and education domains.

Some of the projects running in Tanzania have been to renovate the regional buildings and facilities of the Tanzanian Teachers’ Union.  In addition, we sponsored a one-day workshop for 150 teachers from Kinondoni in 2008 and funded the 2008 Kinondoni primary schools athletics competition to the tune of Tshs 7.6 million.  Furthermore, we were involved in the renovations of the Airport Primary School buildings in Kigoma with a large contribution of Tshs 19.7 million; this effort included 265 new school desks as well.

Bayport does not invest in communities for its own sake, but rather to empower people to develop themselves.  Our Scholarship Award Scheme, established in 2007, in one example of assistance rendered to learners who have talent and work hard.  Students who do exceptionally well in their studies, yet do not have the financial means to continue their studies, qualify for this eight-year sponsorship.  It is expected that learners should excel at their Basic Education Certificate Examination, and that they are from an economically disadvantaged background.  The scholarship covers the latter four years of their high school studies and four years of tertiary studies.  So successful has the scheme been that Ghana Financial Services (Bayport) has made it a permanent sponsorship.

We run similar incentive programmes in Tanzania, assisting economically disadvantage pupils that perform well at school to complete their school careers and tertiary studies.  We also help elsewhere, based on merit and one story that has touched us is the one about the two albino sisters from Mwanza city who have suffered discrimination and physical assault due to their skin pigmentation.  Bayport has committed to paying the sisters’ school fees and providing for their upkeep.

Bayport has experienced remarkable success and growth since its inception and has weather the global economic crisis better than most.  A large part of this success is thanks to a very experienced management team, starting with Justin Chola and Stuart Stone.  

The talented Stuart Stone is joint Chief Executive of the Bayport Group and Bayport Management Limited’s Executive Director.  He is a successful chartered accountant and entrepreneur, and was one of the founding shareholders of Credit Direct, in a joint venture with African Bank.  He then joined African Bank and made his presence felt there before he and Grant Kurland co-founded Bayport Management Limited.

Justin Chola is Bayport Management Limited’s Director as well as CEO of Bayport Financial Services in Zambia.  Justin has much experience in information technology and financial services, having worked in both the United States and several African countries.  Justin was the manager of South African operations of Enron Corporation and the Director for Information Technology at the Zambian National Commercial Bank Limited.  In addition, he used to hold the post of Group Chief Operating Officer of African Banking Corporation Limited.  Under his leadership, Bayport Zambia has become the country’s largest unsecured credit provider.

Grant Kurland is Bayport Management Limited’s current Chief Executive and joint Chief Executive of the Bayport Group, together with Stuart Stone.  After completing his studies, Grant had joined Nando’s in 1992, developing their business in Africa and overseas.  In 1999, he joined Credit Direct, a micro-credit operation.  Credit Direct was acquired by African Bank; Grant joined the bank and was appointed head of sales.  He was also responsible for designing African Bank’s branch and mobile business models.

Bayport Financial Services has proven the sceptics wrong as it blazed a trail, establishing a viable unsecured credit model in Africa, a relatively immature financial market.  Today, many Africans benefit from Bayport financing services and have been able to bring their futures to life with hassle-free, responsible, unsecured credit from Bayport.  We have proven that a thorough understanding of one’s target market and an innovative business model can make unsecured credit possible, even in Africa.