Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. James Mwangi,
with MBA students (Class of 2025-2026) from Columbia Business School, US at
Equity Centre, Nairobi./HANDOUTAfrica has immense business potential and opportunities despite market competition and challenges, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. James Mwangi has said.
Addressing 30 MBA students (Class of 2025-2026) from Columbia Business School, US at Equity Centre, Nairobi, Mwangi named climate change as one of the challenges, highlighting its impact on agriculture-dependent economies.
The session focused on Equity Group’s business model and the
role of the Equity Group Foundation in enabling business growth and expansion
across East Africa.
Mwangi highlighted business opportunities in Africa, citing Africa’s burgeoning youthful population as a major advantage as well as bad politics, inflation, volatility in exchange rates as risks worth considering when setting up.
“You can have a successful business in Africa with global investment and shareholding,” he said.
“One of our strategies was first demystifying banking by taking the services to the villages with land rovers and also incorporating agency banking in our operations. This is where we used shopkeepers in rural areas to deliver some of our basic banking services. We empowered them with banking apps and mobile phones as well as POS. We also went digital,” said Mwangi.
He explained how Equity at some point literally used to hawk banking services, as happens with daily household items like salt.
Explaining how Equity did away with banking barriers to foster financial inclusion, Mwangi elaborated on how Equity collaborates with various entities to train and empower entrepreneurs.
He said this is done through capacity-building initiatives while also de-risking the value chains they invest, thanks to Equity Group Foundation.
Mwangi also highlighted how Equity connects these entrepreneurs to regional and global markets.
“Customer trust fuels the Equity brand, which has grown into a global powerhouse. Recently ranked as the second-strongest banking brand worldwide by Brand Finance, Equity’s strong brand appeal has attracted top global talent, enhancing its capabilities, skills, and expertise. This global human capital provides a competitive edge by embedding international best practices into the organization,” said Mwangi, emphasising the importance of excellent and effective governance structure in any business model.
The MBA students from Columbia Business School come from diverse study areas including Finance and Investment, Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship, Technology, Media and Consulting and Social Impact and Sustainability.
Stephan Meier, the James P. Gorman Professor of Business Strategy and the Chair of the Management Division at Columbia Business School, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn from Equity.
“For our students to be global leaders, we always endeavour to take them across the world to meet and learn from thought leaders. To come in Kenya and learn from Equity under the leadership of Dr. Mwangi, who is considered as one of the top thought leaders from Africa, is a great honour and privilege. We are grateful to Equity,” said Prof. Meier.
Besides serving as an IFC Economic Advisor, Mwangi has also previously been involved with the Clinton Global Initiative, the G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and the Global Agenda Council on New Economic Thinking of the World Economic Forum.
Mwangi is a guest lecturer at Lagos business school, MIT, Harvard, Columbia, IESE, and Stanford where the Equity Bank model is a case study.
