The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has received a prestigious award from the International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank, for its outstanding work with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This award, presented in Mumbai, India, has named the bank as the top SME Financier in Africa.
These awards recognize the essential role that banks and financial technology companies play in helping small businesses achieve their goals.
Gideon Muriuki, the Managing Director and CEO of Co-op Bank expressed his enthusiasm for the award, stating, “We are encouraged by this award as a demonstration that we have listened, studied, and built competitive solutions for SMEs to realize their goals.”
Earlier this year, the bank announced that it had set aside sh.14 billion to lend to small businesses through its network.
This seven-year loan program was organized by DEG, a German development finance institution and a subsidiary of the KfW Group, along with a group of financial institutions.
In Kenya, SMEs make up a whopping 98 percent of all businesses and are responsible for creating around 30 percent of all new jobs each year.
By the end of 2022, Co-op Bank had listed its long-term borrowings at sh.48.1 billion, showing improvement compared to the previous year when it was sh.42.9 billion.
These borrowings came from various sources, including the IFC (sh.15.6 billion), the European Investment Bank East Africa (sh.6.9 billion), AFD Microfinance (sh.1.16 billion), and the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (sh.467.5 million).
These awards are organized by the SME Finance Forum and supported by the G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI).
Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum, expressed his optimism, saying, “This competition makes me very positive that we are on the right track to greatly narrow the SME finance gap.”
The SME Finance Forum is a network of more than 250 leading banks, non-bank financial institutions, fintech companies, and development banks.
It was established by the G20 in 2012 and is managed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
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