As part of the visit to Kenya of the French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester, Proparco granted Equity Bank two guarantee facilities, ARIZ and EURIZ totalling €39 million (5 billion KES) to help the Kenyan bank further support job creating MSMEs. Proparco also granted a €550,000 technical assistance facility to support Equity Group Foundation’s health projects. The EURIZ guarantee and the technical assistance grant benefited from support from the European Union and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.
Equity Group is the biggest bank in asset base in the region, with a strong focus on supporting businesses in the real economy. It stands out for its continued support to SMEs, women entrepreneurs and rural populations with products designed to expand opportunities for wealth creation. It is also well-known for its high-impact development programs in Education and Leadership Development, Energy and Environment, Food and Agriculture, Health, Financial Inclusion and Enterprise Development and Social Protection led through the Equity Group Foundation.
Upon completing the signing, Dr. James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group Holdings Plc. stated that, "Our strong relationship with Proparco is one that we greatly value. Our shared vision for the transformation of lives and livelihoods on the African continent is one we are both committed to. It is this shared mission that continues to support and expand opportunities for wealth creation on the continent for our people, and which will allow Africa to thrive and prosper in the post-Covid economy and underpins our collaborations under the French "Choose Africa" and Equity’s post covid Africa resilience and growth plan."
Over the past three years, Proparco and Equity Bank have grown to become strong partners thanks notably to a $22.8 million loan granted in 2019 and a $100 million loan granted in October 2020, both intended to support the Bank’s commitment to Kenya’s MSMEs the actors in the real economy.
On the occasion of the visit to Kenya of the French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester, Proparco and Equity further strengthened their relationship by signing two new guarantees and of a technical assistance grant.
The first, a €19,5 million (2.5 billion KES) ARIZ guarantee will cover 50% of the amount of eligible loans allocated by Equity Bank to Kenyan MSMEs.
The second, a €19,5 million (2.5 billion KES) EURIZ guarantee will cover up to 70% of loans granted to women entrepreneurs or […]