Kenya - Equity Group Holdings Plc

The proposed project relates to the provision of USD 100 million subordinated debt funding, tier II qualifying debt, to Equity Group Holdings Plc (EGH). It seeks to enhance the borrower’s capacity to expand its lending activities to MSMEs and local corporates across various countries in Africa. The subdebt will have a tenor of eight years inclusive of a grace period of five years in order to align with tier II qualifications as guided by Central Bank of Kenya Prudential Guidelines. The subdebt will bolster EGH’s interventions in key sectors including agriculture, manufacturing and trade across countries of operation through its prowess of delivering funding to otherwise financially excluded business segments/ groups such as MSMEs, women and youth. EGH was initially known for its lending to SMEs and its focus on this business segment at a time when hitherto mainstream lenders were downsizing and scaling down on SME lending. EGH has widened its coverage to include micro enterprises as evidenced by its service offering to the unbanked in camps for internally displaced persons and refugees in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.