Equity Bank Kenya will obtain a loan portfolio guarantee of $50 million from the Dutch Development Finance Fund (FMO) to support SMEs in Kenya. This risk-sharing facility will be provided under the Nasira program, launched by the Dutch agency with the support of the European Union.
Commenting on the deal, Linda Broekhuizen, Interim CEO of FMO, said financing micro, small and medium enterprises is critical to reducing the impact of the pandemic on the livelihoods of people and their communities.
Nasira, which finances companies in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Europe, has since 2020 expanded its focus to include companies in difficulty as a result of covid-19.
The guarantee granted will cover loans provided by the Kenyan bank to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) whose activities have been severely affected by the health crisis. Businesses run by women and those in the agricultural value chain will also be eligible for this financing.
The loan portfolio of Equity Group, the parent company of Equity Bank Kenya, grew by 30% to 453.9 billion shillings ($4.1 billion) at the end of September 2020.
Chamberline MOKO
Ethio Telecom has signed a new agreement with Ericsson to expand and modernize its telecom netwo...
EIB commits over €1 billion for renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa Funding supports Miss...
MTN Zambia tests Starlink satellite service connecting phones directly from space Direct-to...
Since its 2019 IPO, Airtel Africa paid Deloitte over $37 million in audit and non-audit fees,...
Nigeria introduced a 1% flat tax on the turnover of informal-sector businesses under a new presump...
Mirova to invest $15 million in iSAT solar telecom towers Funding supports rural tower rollout in Liberia and Zambia Solar-battery...
Botswana and five Southern African countries will harmonize mobile roaming tariffs. The initiative is part of the regional One Network Area (ONA)...
Microsoft and Education Plus launched Empower+, a free digital learning platform. The initiative targets young people in 21 African countries,...
Reading markets where most people see only chaos. In short, that is what a cryptocurrency analyst does. Neither trader nor developer, this professional...
With much of Africa’s cultural heritage still held outside the continent and restitutions in Europe moving slowly, a South African video game imagines...
Paris exhibition showcases Brazilian painter Gonçalo Ivo’s Africa-inspired works Show runs March 20-July 9 at La Maison Gacha Exhibition...