NCBA Group has signed a $50 million facility with Proparco, a subsidiary of the AFD Group focused on private sector development. The funding will go towards delivering NCBA’s ‘Change The Story‘ sustainability agenda.
NCBA has a long-standing relationship with AFD Group and continues to evolve its commitment to sustainability. In 2023, the group launched its Change The Story platform anchored on five strategic pillars and a set of fifteen bold commitments. Among these commitments relevant in the partnership includes mobilizing Kshs 30 billion of Green and Sustainable Financing, steering at least 30% of the general services procurement spend to women and youth plus promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Additionally, NCBA launched an ambitious investment plan to extend its presence in Kenya, to better serve its SME and corporate clients while reducing inequality through financial inclusion. Through the deal with Proparco, NCBA Group will enhance sectoral investments in agriculture and manufacturing as well as join the 2X Challenge, an initiative promoting women in entrepreneurship and SMEs.
The 2X Challenge is an initiative launched by international financial institutions in 2018 to advance opportunities for women and increase financing towards gender-equality. The project is expected to finance more than 1,600 MSMEs and SMEs, in the context of the Choose Africa initiative, the Agence Française de Dèvelopment (AFD) Group program that aims to support African entrepreneurs. It will contribute to SDG 5 “Gender Equality”, SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth”, SDG 13 “Climate Action.”
“We are grateful to Proparco for coming on board and enabling us to meet our Sustainability commitments. As NCBA, collaborative efforts and strategic partnerships are integral to the value that we deliver to all our stakeholders. I believe that with this partnership, we will deepen our shared goals to fostering sustainable economic development and advancing the cause of green finance, women empowerment, and SME growth” said John Gachora, the Group MD, NCBA.
In line with its 2023-2027 Strategy, Proparco is collaborating with NCBA to walk the journey of implementing its sustainability strategy in the country, especially towards green financing, women-led businesses, and SMEs.
“NCBA Group endorses the same goals and values as Proparco. The positive role they play to tackle climate change through green projects, as well as social inequalities, resonates with our 2023-2027 Strategy. We are certain that this collaboration will enhance financial inclusion in Kenya, especially for women entrepreneurs, as the project has qualified for the 2X Challenge,” Emmanuel Haye, Head of Financial Institutions Africa at Proparco.
NCBA Group is a full-service banking group providing a broad range of financial products and services to corporate, institutional, SME and consumer banking customers. NCBA Group operates a network of more than 100 branches in five countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ivory Coast. Serving over 60 million customers, the NCBA Group is the largest banking group in Africa by customer numbers and plays a key role in supporting Africa’s economic ambitions. The Bank is a market leader in Corporate Banking, Asset Finance and Digital Banking.
Proparco, a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD), has been working with the private sector for over 45 years for a more just and sustainable world. With an international network of 23 local offices, Proparco works closely with its partners to build sustainable solutions in response to environmental and social challenges in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. Proparco benefits from sector-based expertise as well as a wide range of financial solutions tailored to the different stages of business development, notably thanks to its Digital Africa subsidiary, and its Propulse technical assistance offering designed to scale up the impacts and performance of its partners. Proparco’s new “Acting together for greater impact” Strategy 2023-2027 enables, strengthens, and amplifies the different ways in which it works with its partners.
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