This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
Published on December 5, 2019, Equity Group Holdings (EGH), headquartered in Nairobi, has set its sights on expanding to 15 African countries by 2026.
According to Dr. James Mwangi, speaking to Bloomberg, the bank aims to capitalize on Nairobi's strategic position as the regional financial hub.
EGH has already established a presence in the region, with subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The bank's expansion strategy involves the gradual acquisition of banking franchises in target markets, with a focus on Southern, Western, and Central Africa.
One notable acquisition was the purchase of Atlas Mara in April 2019, which saw EGH acquire a 62% share of Banque Populaire du Rwanda Limited and 100% of African Banking Corporation (ABC) in Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
Additionally, EGH is in the process of acquiring a 66.53% stake in Banque Commercial du Congo (BCDC), the second-largest bank in the DRC.
As part of its expansion efforts, EGH appointed John Wilson as Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) in September, tasked with leading the bank's Pan-African expansion strategy and accelerating digitization efforts.
With over 14 million customers, Equity Bank is currently the largest bank in the Eastern and Central Africa region, with access to an additional 2 million customers through recent deals.
