Equity Group has been recognized for its outstanding achievements in expanding access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the Global SME Finance Awards 2023.
The awards are organized by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the SME Finance Forum and endorsed by the G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI).
Equity received two Platinum Awards for “SME Financier of the Year—Africa” and “Product Innovation of the Year” for its “Pay With Equity” solution, which enables customers to pay for goods and services using their Equity accounts.
Equity also received an honourable mention in the “Women Financier of the Year” category for its efforts to support women entrepreneurs and women-led SMEs.
The awards were announced at the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 in Mumbai, India, where 165 applications from 120 institutions were submitted.
An independent panel of 85 judges selected 30 winners across all categories.
The Global SME Finance Awards showcase and share the best practices and knowledge of financial institutions and fintech companies that provide innovative and effective solutions for SMEs.
They also aim to encourage more institutions to offer better financial services to SMEs.
Dr. James Mwangi, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO thanked the IFC and the Global SME Finance Awards for the recognition and said, “This reflects our commitment to continually innovate our financial solutions to cater to the diverse needs of SMEs, individual women, women in groups, and women-led SMEs, among others, and to continue to empower them and enable them to foster growth and wealth creation.”
Equity has collaborated with various partners to support SMEs and women in business by offering financial education, entrepreneurship training, and access to credit.
Under the Young Africa Works Program, Equity has trained 2,417,019 women and youth in financial education, 448,169 MSMEs in entrepreneurship, and disbursed Kes 248.3 billion to 269,081 MSMEs.
The Global SME Finance Awards, launched in 2018, are now in their sixth year.
They capture the effective and successful practices of financiers, honouring the innovative products and services for SME clients that have achieved impressive results in expanding finance and services to SMEs and the institutions that undertake those efforts.
This year’s award categories included SME Financier of the Year, Product Innovation of the Year, Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs, and Sustainable Bond of the Year.
