James Mwangi’s Equity Bank secures $49.3 million in funding for onward lending to small businesses

Equity Bank Kenya, a subsidiary of Equity Bank Group, Kenya’s largest financial services group, is on track to acquire a total investment of Ksh5.66 billion ($49.3 million) from British International Investment (BII) to accelerate the growth and expansion of small companies in Kenya.

BII, formerly known as CDC Group, is the UK government’s development finance institution. The organization will play an important part in the government’s aspirations to mobilize up to £8 billion per year in public and private sector investment in overseas projects by 2025.

The $49.3 million in funds that the James Mwangi-led financial services group will receive from BII at an unspecified date will be deployed to render support through microcredit loans to small and medium businesses in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy.

Vicky Ford, the UK minister for Africa, explained that the funds will be used to help the bank serve more Kenyans, especially small businesses, to boost business prosperity and help drive Kenya’s economic growth.

“Our economic partnership is delivering impressive results, and we have some ambitious, exciting plans for the future. Plans that will deliver for Kenya, and for the UK, long into our shared future,” she said.

In addition to the investment, the UK will enhance its assistance for green manufacturing in Kenya by contributing an extra KSh61 million ($537,500) to the segment.

With Ksh42 billion invested in 83 firms, Kenya is BII’s third-largest portfolio. The companies in BII’s portfolio create more than 36,000 jobs and pay Ksh2.6 billion in taxes to the government.

Nearly two weeks ago, the bank secured a Ksh21.1-billion ($165 million) credit facility from the International Finance Corporation to enhance its regulatory capital requirements and support its lending operations to climate-smart projects and small and medium enterprises in Kenya.