Equity Bank has won the SME Bank of the Year – Africa title at the IFC Global SME Finance Awards, taking the platinum award at a ceremony in Madrid, Spain. The recognition was endorsed by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI).
The award, announced on 21 November 2018, was part of the Global SME Finance Awards programme, which highlights financial institutions and fintech companies that have delivered strong products and services to small and medium-sized enterprise clients. More than 100 applicants were considered before judges selected the winners.
The panel included representatives from financial institutions, investors, fintech companies and development banks. It assessed entries on the number of MSMEs financed, the volume of financing, innovation, the impact of products and services, and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions.
SME Finance Forum CEO Matthew Gamser congratulated the winners at the ceremony and said the awards were meant to recognise institutions and fintech firms that had delivered strong results for SME clients. He said the winners shared a commitment to helping small businesses through innovation and dedication.
For Equity Bank, the award reflected its long-running focus on MSME banking. The lender said MSMEs account for 69.8% of its total loan book and 76.7% of its total deposits, underscoring how central the segment is to its business model.
Equity Bank SME Banking General Manager Jeremy Kamau said the bank had helped shape several banking trends, including digital innovation. He said technology had allowed the lender to break barriers of geography, time and space, and to move banking from “where you go” to “what you do.”
The bank has invested in digital tools for small businesses, including EazzyBiz, EazzyNet and EazzyApp. It also offers trade finance and treasury instruments to SMEs, while its agent network of more than 36,000 outlets reaches rural, urban, pastoral and marginalised areas across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and DR Congo.
Its women-focused Fanikisha services have also been part of that strategy. Since 2007, Equity Bank says it has disbursed more than USD 363 million in loans to 338,000 women and trained 39,070 entrepreneurs in partnership with Norfund, the International Labour Organisation, Mastercard Foundation and the Lundin Foundation.
In 2010, Equity Group Foundation and Mastercard Foundation launched the Financial Knowledge for Africa programme, known as FiKA. The initiative has since trained more than 1.7 million women and youth in financial literacy and money management, while participants have received loans totalling USD 680 million. The bank also says it has helped 600,000 subsistence farmers transition into agribusiness or small-scale commercial farming through training.
Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi said the bank was honoured to be recognised for creating high-impact enterprises and deepening financial inclusion in Africa. He said the institution, which began as a small business more than 34 years ago, understood the obstacles MSMEs face, including limited access to capital and markets, as well as gaps in business management knowledge and skills.
