IFC, Equity Group Expand Partnership and Investment to Support Small Business Lending and Climate-Smart Projects

• Expansion of relationship includes IFC and IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund acquiring a minority shareholding stake in Equity.
• IFC to support Equity's lending to MSMEs under the `Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan' with $165 million loan along with partners from the Netherlands (FMO), British International Investment -- the UK's development finance institution, and Symbiotics and ResponsAbility.

Nairobi, Kenya, May 10, 2022 - IFC and Equity Group Holdings Plc. today announced they are expanding their partnership to support the sustainable development of Africa by increasing access to financial services for small businesses and funding for green projects in six countries across Eastern and Central Africa.

IFC's backing, along with that of partners British International Investment, FMO, Symbiotics and ResponsAbility, will support Equity Group to deliver on its $6 billion `Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan' to finance five million businesses and 25 million households to create 50 million jobs both directly and indirectly in Kenya, DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and South Sudan.

The backing is underpinned by:

• IFC and the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, a fund managed by IFC Asset Management Company, IFC's equity mobilization division, acquired a 6.71 percent stake in Equity Group, East Africa's largest banking group. The investment is IFC's first in Africa that aligns with IFC's approach to increase green equity investments in financial institutions. Through this equity investment, Equity Group commits to zero lending for coal related projects. Further, Equity Group Holdings has agreed to allocate $80 million equity towards climate covering all subsidiaries over the next five years.
  
• As part of IFC and Equity Group's expanded partnership, IFC, along with partners, is also providing a loan to Equity Bank Kenya to support lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, and will focus especially on supporting climate-smart projects which are developing solutions to help address the climate emergency. The $165 million subordinated loan to Equity Bank Kenya includes $50 million from IFC, $50 million from BII, and $65 million from Symbiotics, ResponsAbIility, and the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, FMO, a long-time shareholder in Equity through Arise Investments.
  

"As Equity Group, we are delighted to welcome IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, to the Equity family as our second largest shareholder. With IFC's reach as the largest global development institution focused on the private sector equity, we will be able to further advance economic development by empowering and catalyzing the transformation of the lives and livelihoods of the African people and will enhance the success and sustainability of Equity's 'Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan'," said Dr. James Mwangi, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO.

"Supporting small businesses and climate-friendly projects is central to IFC's strategy in Africa to help create jobs, respond to climate change and leverage the opportunities afforded by the digital economy. IFC's deepening partnership with Equity Group reflects that strategy and will support economic growth in Africa as the continent recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Mohamed Gouled, IFC's Vice President of Risk and Finance.

"BII is pleased to partner with IFC in providing a new loan facility to Equity Bank Kenya. As our second investment in Equity Bank, this investment will further increase working capital to more local businesses and help to fund climate eligible projects in Kenya. This climate finance facility demonstrates BII's ambition to scale climate finance across the African continent and our ongoing commitment to support sustainable, productiveproductive, and inclusive economic growth in Kenya," said Seema Dhanani, Head of Office Kenya & Coverage Director, East Africa, BII.

This is the second facility which IFC has entered into with Equity Group Holdings in the past year, with the first being a $50 million loan to Equity BCDC (Equity's subsidiary in the DRC) in Congolese francs that is helping the bank to provide additional local currency loans to underserved micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the DRC.

About IFC

IFC-a member of the World Bank Group-is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

About IFC Asset Management Company

IFC Asset Management Company (AMC), a division of IFC, mobilizes and manages capital to invest in businesses in developing and frontier markets. Created in 2009, AMC provides leading institutional investors with unique access to IFC's emerging markets investment pipeline and investment expertise, while providing positive development impact in the countries in which it invests. Investors in AMC managed funds include sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and development finance institutions. It has raised over $10 billion across 13 investment funds covering equity, debt, and fund-of-funds products. For more information, visit www.ifcamc.org

About the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund (FIG)

The $505 million IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund is a follow-on fund to the IFC Capitalization Fund and makes equity and equity-like investments in financial institutions in emerging markets.

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AboutEquityGroupHoldings

Equity Group Holdings Plc. is a Pan-African financial services holding company listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange. The Group has banking subsidiaries in Kenya, DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and a Commercial Representative Office in Ethiopia. It has other subsidiaries in investment banking, insurance, telecom, fintech and social impact investments.

Equity Group is the largest bank in the region in assets of Kshs 1.12 trillion (USD 11.2 billion). It is also the biggest bank in deposits, market capitalization of USD 2billion and with a customer base of over 15 million customers. The Group has a footprint of 337 branches, 56,772 Agents, 32,269 Merchants, 697 ATMs and an extensive adoption of digital banking channel. Website Link: https://equitygroupholdings.com

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