Equity Bank’s journey began in 1984. At the time, Equity Group was known as Equity Building Society. 38 years later, what started as a small society has grown to become the largest bank in East and Central Africa with more than Sh. 1 trillion valuation.
This has been possible through various milestones the bank has recorded over the years. In 2004, for instance, Equity converted into a fully-fledged commercial bank, Equity Bank Limited (EBL).
It was then listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 2006, becoming the largest bank by market capitalization, and attracting Helios, a strategic investor, who invested USD 185 million in 2007.
Support such as this has seen the scaling and transformation of the Group into a rapidly growing Pan-African banking group, and in the process inspiring many.
On 31st December, 2014, Equity Building Society, as it had previously been known as, became Equity Group Holdings Limited, a non-operating holding company. This was after undergoing a process of restructuring that was aimed at fueling the Group to its objectives faster.
How Equity has earned trust capital among millions of customers
The Group has over time established itself as a Social and Economic brand, scaling on both fronts, owing to its unique approach. The Group has impacted the lives of people in communities, at grassroots level by operating using existing infrastructure, strategic partnerships and a strong brand.
Its strategic initiatives and innovations are geared towards improvement of access, convenience and affordability of financial services to people.
This has seen the group grow into a regional diversified services firm, while maintaining an impressive growth momentum and upward trajectory.
The Group has set itself apart as a financial services provider, establishing itself as the leader with a strong base for Pan-African growth and thereby becoming a movement for social economic transformation of the African people.
The Group’s greatest challenge presents the greatest opportunity; to meet the expectations of all customers and stakeholders in this region.
In 2015, the Group commenced operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the acquisition of Pro-credit Bank, a milestone that set a benchmark and propelled them towards enhancing its reach and furthering its financial inclusion agenda. This move was in line with the Equity 3.0 strategy and was part of the commitment to deepen financial inclusion in Africa.
By executing the Equity 3.0 strategy, the Group is able to leverage on breakthrough technology and innovation to achieve a convergence of financial products and services, in addition to seamlessly integrating the channels.
The Group has forged a well embraced, purpose-driven and community centered culture that works in tandem with it’s compelling vision of being the champion of socio-economic prosperity of the people of Africa.
This way it has transformed itself from a small building society into the leading financial services Group in the region and one of the most powerful brands in East and Central Africa.
The Group, through The Equity Group Foundation, continues to capitalize on Social and Impact Investments, a move whose success was evidenced by the growth of its customer numbers to over 10.1 million by the end of 2015.
Such initiatives include transformation and modernization of agriculture through agribusiness activities, micro-business enhancement through financial literacy and entrepreneurship training, inclusion through social payments and development of ethical leaders through scholarships under the Wings to Fly scholarship and Equity Leaders Programs.
Since 2016, the Group has continued to capitalize on the opportunities that ensure that Kenya is positioned as the hub for financial services in the region.
Efforts to achieve this are fueled by offering differentiated, high quality offerings driven by segmentation and cross-selling initiatives and responsiveness to the needs of the customers across the different segments.
