"How long until I get my machine?" is the question every financed SDLG buyer asks — and the honest answer is a range, not a promise. A complete, clean file moves from application to handover in a few weeks; a file with missing documents, valuation questions or insurance hold-ups stretches to a month or more. What separates the two is almost never the lender's appetite — it is the buyer's preparation. This guide maps the realistic week-by-week sequence, shows where deals actually slow down, and explains why "48-hour approval" claims deserve scepticism unless every condition behind them is stated.

Quick answers if you are planning a financed purchase: the SDLG finance approval time Kenya buyers should plan around is days-to-weeks for a complete file — commonly within one to three weeks for straightforward cases, and longer where valuations, guarantors or contract verification add steps. The SDLG finance to handover Kenya sequence runs: documents → lender assessment → approval and offer letter → insurance → disbursement → delivery → commissioning → operator training. Equipment finance timeline Kenya delays almost always trace to incomplete files, not lender reluctance — the documents checklist exists precisely because of that pattern. A machine delivery time Kenya buyers can hold dealers to is about two weeks for stock machines per the dealer's price list terms, with factory orders running eight to twelve. And buy SDLG on finance Kenya buyers should treat guaranteed-speed marketing with the same scepticism as guaranteed-approval marketing: both belong in the contract or not at all.

The sequence, stage by stage

Stage 1: Document preparation (days 1–5)

ID, KRA PIN, bank statements, business registration, the written proforma — the checklist itemises everything by buyer type. Index the file once and send it complete: every missing document returned later restarts part of the review at most lenders.

Stage 2: Lender assessment (days 5–15)

Affordability, credit history, collateral and contract strength are assessed. Verification calls are normal — keep your phone reachable. Complex files (start-ups, LPO-backed contracts, multiple guarantors) extend this stage honestly; no marketing timeline overrides the assessment itself.

Stage 3: Approval, offer and insurance (days 15–20)

Review the offer letter fully: deposit, tenor, fees, insurance and total repayment — the tenor guide and cost-of-credit guide cover what to check. Comprehensive insurance is arranged as a drawdown condition; premium logistics stall more deals at this stage than any other single item.

Stage 4: Disbursement and delivery (days 20–34)

The lender pays the dealer against the agreed milestones; the dealer schedules low-bed delivery. Stock machines land in about two weeks per dealer terms; route surveys and site-readiness checks belong in this window, not after the truck arrives.

Stage 5: Commissioning and operator training (days 34–36)

Documented pre-delivery inspection, function verification, first-service scheduling, warranty registration and structured operator orientation close the loop — the difference between a delivered machine and an earning one.

Where deals actually slow down

The "48-hour approval" question, answered honestly

Fast approvals exist — for complete files, familiar borrowers and straightforward machines, some lenders turn decisions around in days. But a blanket "48-hour approval" promise that ignores file completeness, valuation steps and insurance conditions is marketing, not process. The disciplined version of the claim is contractual: some lenders write turnaround commitments into their offer terms with stated conditions. Ask for that version — the one that says what must be true for the clock to hold — and treat everything else as an aspiration.

Working with the SDLG desk on the timeline

The desk's role in the sequence is coordination, not magic: it assembles the machine schedule and proforma, introduces the lender, chases the document set and sequences delivery against the approval — but it cannot compress lender assessment or insurance logistics, and it will say so. What the desk can do is hold the sequence together so no stage waits on a hand-off that was never scheduled: insurance conversations start at application, the site-readiness checklist lands with the approval notice, and the commissioning slot is booked before the low-bed leaves the yard. Buyers who run the sequence with the desk as a single process rather than a series of separate transactions consistently land their handover dates; buyers who treat each stage as somebody else's problem consistently discover where the delays live.

Planning your own programme backwards

Work backwards from the date you need the machine earning: add the delivery window, the insurance and disbursement days, the assessment range and the document-assembly days, then add a buffer for the delay table above. If the arithmetic shows your need date is inside the realistic window, accelerate the controllable stages — documents and site readiness — rather than hoping the uncontrollable ones compress. The cost estimate calculator gives the financial frame for the same exercise.

The five stages in one table

The ownership column is the practical lesson: two of the five stages belong to the buyer, and those two set the pace for everything downstream. A buyer who assembles the finance application documents Kenya lenders expect, once and completely, controls the first stage outright — and the equipment loan approval Kenya experience improves proportionally. The SDLG finance process Kenya rewards the same discipline at every hand-off: each owner knows what they owe the next stage, and the SDLG handover process Kenya buyers experience at commissioning is simply stage five done properly — PDI, orientation, warranty registration and training in one protected window. And on SDLG delivery Kenya logistics, remember the delivery window belongs to the dealer but the site belongs to you; the truck arriving to an unreadiness is the most expensive two hours in the whole sequence.

Frequently asked questions

Disclaimer: Timelines in this guide are realistic planning ranges, not commitments. Approval times, delivery windows and lead times are lender-, unit- and file-specific; written quotations, offer letters and order contracts are the only authoritative documents. Figures verified 2026-10-29.