Equity Bank Group has mobilised Sh3 trillion in credit to support African businesses looking to grow in the region and beyond as part of its Africa renaissance agenda.
The bank's managing director James Mwangi revealed this on Wednesday at the launch of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council Hub for East and Central Africa (CWEIC) in Nairobi.
"We have raised Sh3 trillion which is almost three times our total value to ensure African businesses are at the global table. The continent is no longer a passive participant in the world economic order,'' Mwangi said.
According to him, the continent has the largest portion of the world's arable land, green natural resources and human capital but lacks the financial muscle to propel it to great levels.
Mwangi said that the current world economic order, which was built in 1947, excluded African countries from the table.
"We have operated on a system that marginalised the continent. The twin tragedies of the Covid-19 pandemic and the current war in Ukraine have provided the opportunity for a global economic reset. African economies are now proving that they can fill in the gaps to support global supply chains,” said.
The hub, which is the Commonwealth’s business network, will promote trade and investment by positioning the region strategically.
The council will work closely with Equity Group to put in place initiatives that will encourage international investors and partners to capitalise on the opportunities arising from the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement within the region.
Mwangi will chair the regional council after being appointed by Lord Marland of Odstock, Chairman, of CWEIC.
The two institutions are expected to work on the private sector economic recovery and resilience stimulus plan, which Equity has seeded with funds focusing on the primary sectors of food and agriculture, extractives, manufacturing and logistics, trade and investments, social impact, health and environmental investments.
The partnership will among others, support the creation of 50 million jobs by 2025 and five million SMEs will receive loans to scale and grow, utilising tools of the AfCFTA Agreement and create additional private sector lending with an envisaged loan book to be directed to agriculture (30 per cent), manufacturing (15 per cent), MSMEs (65 per cent).
The council will work with the bank to put in place initiatives that will encourage international investors and partners to capitalise on the opportunities arising from the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement within the region.
Currently, the CWEIC has a presence in the African continent through similar hub offices in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, which also covers operations in Gabon.
Other hubs around the world include the Australia hub, which covers the Pacific region, Bangladesh, the UK, the Caribbean and Singapore among others with additional representation in other countries across the world.
Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development, Moses Kuria lauded the efforts of CWEIC and Equity Group in rallying the region to strengthen its unity and growth through Trade.
He said that he has been studying the Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan and agrees that it provides a robust framework for putting regional businesses and entrepreneurs on the global map.
"My challenge to Equity Group is that we need to work together to elevate it from being a regional plan into an African Union plan so that we can have the African continent working together,” said Kuria.