The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a Ksh5.6 billion credit line to Equity Bank to facilitate onward lending to Small and Medium Enterprises across the region.
Equity Bank Group Managing Director Dr James Mwangi said the funds will be advanced to eligible SME players to accelerate their business performance. The credit line which is part of the EIB’s Global Loan facility, he explained, is expected to be channeled towards a growing number of regional SME businesses seeking local or international currency denominated business loans.
Such funds, he noted are already in high demand due to the ongoing infrastructure development and related projects. With such projects now in various stages, local SME’s he added have been contracted to provide various on ground services and are therefore pushing up demand for medium term business loans. To further support the sustainable absorption of the funds, Dr Mwangi confirmed that Equity Bank will be providing a full bouquet of services to SME’s including Entrepreneurship training and Peer Club networks to guarantee their success.
“Beyond providing SME loans, we shall also provide them with access to technical business development specialists from Equity Consulting Group to enable them grow,” Dr Mwangi assured. “Our commitment is to advance an integrated solution that literally guides the SME transition to a small corporate level,” he added.
EIB’s Head of Regional Representation Mr Kurt Simonsen, further disclosed that Equity Bank will also be eligible to enjoy the EIB Technical Assistance programme geared at raising the technical capacity of financial and related development partners.
Describing Equity Bank as a development partner, Mr Simonsen said that the EIB’s facility will be directed at various SME projects in the agro industry, fishing, food processing, and manufacturing, construction, transport, tourism, education and healthcare sectors. Under the agreement with EIB, the facility will also be available to any of its banking subsidiaries in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan.
Over the years, Equity Bank has successfully managed to grow its lending to players in the SME space as a proportion of the bank’s loan book.
Leave a comment