Inside toxic working culture at WATU CREDIT where staff are forced to work holidays and weekends without overtime pay.

Thursday, December 19, 2024 - Watu Credit has earned a reputation for exploiting its employees and borrowers with a level of mastery that could only be described as ruthless.

The company's predatory lending practices have long been under the microscope, but recent whistleblower accounts paint an even darker picture, revealing a toxic work environment where workers are treated as expendable, and the rules only seem to serve those at the top.

Employees are being squeezed dry, working long hours on weekends and holidays without a penny in overtime pay, while management seems to enforce policies that benefit only themselves.

It’s a culture where favouritism runs rampant and the Head of Department is too busy watching from the sidelines to champion any real changes.

The staff’s discontent has reached a boiling point and the company appears to be devouring its own from the inside out.

"Hi Cyprian, I need you to call out Watu Credit for providing a toxic working environment for their staff, especially the back office.

“The management keeps frustrating us day by day by coming up with rules that only benefit them and forcing them down on us even without consultation.

“With a basic salary of as low as 32k, you're forced to work from Monday to Sundays and holidays, which were made a must.

“What is hurting most is the HOD does not even help to negotiate for our freedom and rights as it should.

“Right now, they are forcing us to work on the 25th, 26th, and on the 1st, and it’s only the Back Office Simu team.

“Nyakundi, we are not an essential service providing company, why don’t these people just let us have our Sundays and holidays as days off? Please hide ID."

But it’s not just employees who are suffering.

The company’s lending practices have been widely condemned for their predatory nature, especially towards low-income borrowers like Boda Boda operators.

Charging astronomical interest rates, sometimes up to 103%, Watu Credit has been accused of trapping borrowers in a cycle of debt that often leaves them worse off than when they started.

With no clear regulations in place, Watu Credit continues to operate with impunity, causing untold harm to the very people it claims to serve.

And while the company’s business practices might be up for debate, one thing is for certain: its approach to staff layoffs is nothing short of scandalous.

Employees are being subjected to unattainable performance targets, with redundancies often handed out based on favouritism rather than merit.

The process seems more about getting rid of the "undesirable" workers than about following any legitimate process.

At the helm of this chaos is the company’s CEO, Andris Kaneps, a Latvian whose leadership seems to be as out of touch as the predatory practices his company continues to engage in.

Under his watch, Watu Credit has become a breeding ground for exploitation, where workers are treated as disposable and borrowers are subjected to extortionate lending terms.

His failure to address mounting complaints speaks volumes about his disregard for both the well-being of his employees and the financial stability of the communities his company claims to serve.

His apparent indifference to the suffering of those on the ground only adds fuel to the fire, with many questioning how much longer he will continue to profit from the exploitation of Kenya’s most vulnerable.

It seems that for Kaneps, the rules of corporate responsibility are nothing more than an afterthought, as long as the bottom line remains intact.

As more people come forward to expose the truth, one has to wonder how much longer Watu Credit can keep its toxic operation afloat.

Via Cyprian Nyakundi.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.