Equity eyes 84m new customers in Ksh.684b plan

This through the deployment of Ksh.684 billion ($6 billion) in excess liquidity across six markets including Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and the DRC.

The funds, to be channelled as long-term loans to finance infrastructure projects, short-tenured commercial loans and overdrafts are targeted at impacting the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, trade and investment across East and Central Africa.

“Over the last two years, we have learnt a lot about how to move away from seeking individuals to trying to make a more bold and courageous step by changing value chains and eco-systems simultaneously,” noted Equity Group Managing Director James Mwangi.

By the end of the five-year term, Equity is hoping to have five million borrowing businesses and 25 million borrowing customers under its belt.

At the same time, the Group is backing itself to directly and indirectly support up to 50 million new jobs.

Equity has estimated the Ksh.684 billion war-chest to roughly 1.5 per cent of the region’s combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

While the plan, if successful, will serve to further grow the Group’s balance sheet, Dr. Mwangi says the plan is centered on social-economic transformation over the lender’s profitability.

“The central question in the region is whether the youth can get more opportunities and whether we can build-back better,” he added.

The plan is anchored on Ksh.513 billion ($4.5 billion) internal funding from Equity Group and Ksh.171 billion ($1.5 billion) from development finance institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), Proparco and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Equity’s new pan-African plan has been boosted by its recent acquisition of Banque Commerciale Du Congo (BCDC) which propelled the banking outfit to pole position as DRC’s largest commercial bank.

As of September 2021, Equity Group had an asset base of Ksh.1.184 trillion including Ksh.559 billion in net loans and advances to customers.

In addition to development finance institutions (DFIs), Equity is set to partner with government-linked institutions including the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth.