Equity Group Holdings (EGH), a commercial bank operating in East and Central Africa, is benefiting from a USD 100 million (Kenyan Shilling 11 billion) loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to serve small and medium enterprises to terms of a level 2 facility agreement.
“Together with the African Development Bank Group, Equity Group will be firmly positioned to help MSMEs (medium and small businesses) stay the course during the Covid-19 pandemic which has slowed their economy with an impact on corporate cash flow. We have seen the impact of interventions in favor of our MSMEs during this period. They have become more resilient, thereby protecting jobs and creating more employment opportunities through more innovative initiatives (…) “said Dr James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group Holdings.
According to Stefan Nalletamby, AfDB’s Director of Financial Sector Development, “Access to finance is a significant barrier for SMEs in many African markets, a barrier that has become more acute due to the ongoing pandemic.” He clarified that “the loan was aligned with a number of the Bank’s strategic objectives in the five priorities, including improving the quality of life of the African people, Feeding Africa, Lighting and powering Africa and Industrialize Africa ”.
EGH is a pan-African financial services holding company listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (Kenya), the Uganda Stock Exchange and the Rwanda Stock Exchange. The group has banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania and DRC where it recently acquired BCDC to form Equity BCDC, the country’s second largest financial services company. With a representative office in Ethiopia. Equity Group, with an asset base of over $ 10 billion and over 14.2 million customers, is one of the region’s largest banks in terms of customer base.
