Sidian Bank launches self-service bid platform to aid businesses

Business owners can now apply for up to 15 million bid bonds from the comfort of their offices or homes.

This follows launch of a self-service bid bond application platform that responds to business owners needs for convenience, efficiency and quick turn-around time which are critical in any tendering process.

The new application is a departure from the manual process of securing bid bonds and it embraces technology as the next big frontier.

The platform is regulated by the Central bank of Kenya through Sidian Bank, an SME focused bank and leader in Trade Finance in Kenya.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya have been hailed as the engine of economic growth.

They are at the heart of developing entrepreneurship, the source of most new employment and productive investment, and the basis for growth and poverty reduction.

Despite the economic potential of SMEs, they face severe constraints related to access to resources, finance, and services, as well as procedural barriers and that is why the digital transformational product allows any entrepreneurs across the country to register for the platform, onboard their company(ies) and apply for the bid bond anywhere, anytime and from any device in just a few easy steps that targets any supplier or contractor that will need assistance to win a tender and can offer an unsecured bid bonds of up to Sh15 million.

The authenticity of the bid bonds generated is validated by a QR code embedded in the guarantee.

In addition, the bid bonds are auto-signed by the Authorized Signatories of the Bank.

The platform is accessible by both customers and potential customers.

To the latter, the system has capability for self on-boarding and generation of a bid bond. The self-onboarding process for non-Sidian Customers entails an automatic and instant verification of keyed in customer’s

information against credible sources availed to the Banking Industry by Government of Kenya.