Equity Bank Ltd -Westlands - Nairobi, Kenya

On 31st December, 2014, the Group finalized an internal restructuring that culminated in its conversion into a non-operating holding company, Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL) in order to further meet its objectives. The Bank arm was founded in 1984 as Equity Building Society (EBS). The Bank has recorded various key milestones over the years. In 2004, it converted into a fully-fledged commercial bank, Equity Bank Limited (EBL). In 2006, the Bank was listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange where it has become the largest Bank by market capitalization. The listing also attracted Helios, a strategic investor, to invest USD 185 million in 2007. The Group’s transformation into a rapidly growing Pan-African banking group has been an inspiration to many. Over the years, the Group has  

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built a social and economic brand and scaled up by providing financial services to the masses through a diversified distribution of its products and services. It has also had a very unique approach to impacting the lives of the people in communities where it operates using existing infrastructure, enormous human capital and a strong brand. The Group’s strategic initiatives and innovations are geared towards enhancement of access, convenience and affordability of financial services and have seen the group grow into a regional diversified services firm maintaining an impressive growth momentum and trajectory. The Group has established itself as the leading inclusive financial services provider with a strong base for Pan-African growth, thereby becoming a movement for social economic transformation of the people of Africa. The Group’s greatest challenge and opportunity is to meet the expectations of all customers and stakeholders all over the region.

In 2015, the Group took a step further in enhancing its reach and financial inclusion agenda by commencing operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a successful acquisition of Pro-credit Bank. The acquisition dovetails with the Equity3.0 strategy and is part of the commitment to deepen financial inclusion in Africa. By inspiring a well understood, purpose-driven and passionate culture around its compelling vision of being the champion of socio-economic prosperity of the people of Africa, Equity has transformed itself from a small building society into the leading financial services Group in the region and one of the most powerful brands in East and Central Africa. The Group is executing the “Equity 3.0” strategy, a bold step that will ensure the Group is able to leverage on breakthrough technology and innovation to achieve a convergence of financial products and services, in addition to seamlessly integrating the channels. Through Equity Group Foundation, the Group has continued to invest in social and impact investments that have enhanced the growth of its customer numbers to over 10.1 million by the end of 2015. Transformation and modernization of agriculture through agribusiness activities, micro-business enhancement through financial literacy and entrepreneurship training, inclusion through social payments and development of ethical leaders through scholarships under the Wings to Fly scholarship and Equity Leaders Programs are just a few of the several initiatives in this regard.

In 2016 and beyond, the Group has positioned itself to take advantage of the opportunities associated with Kenya becoming the hub for financial services in the region. This will be achieved by offering differentiated, high quality offerings driven by segmentation and cross-selling initiatives and responsiveness to the needs of the customers across the different segments.