Equity Group has entered into a loan agreement with French development institution Proparco of KSh10.8 billion for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The project is expected to support 240 MSMEs and create more than 15,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The agreement was signed in Paris on the sidelines of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s high-level trade delegation to France by Dr. James Mwangi and witnessed by Agence Française de Développement Group’s (AFD) CEO, Remy Rioux.
This is Equity’s second edition of its partnership with Proparco of the current KSh2.4 billion ($22.8 million) loan granted in 2019 as part of broader financing of USD 100m arranged by Proparco and released in partnership with Germany’s Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG).
“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic started as a health crisis, which quickly became an economic crisis and humanitarian crisis that has seen almost 40 percent of Kenyan small business owners affected by the great economic shutdown in business,” Dr. James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group Holdings said in a statement.
“Equity’s goal is to keep the lights of the economy on so as to support lives and livelihoods and as the economy begins to open up, our partnership with Proparco will help us to support the quick recovery of their businesses and most importantly their growth out of the crisis.”
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