Co-operative Bank of Kenya Plc (COOP) clinched the Best Financier of SMEs in Africa golden award at the recently held Global SME Finance Awards 2023.
Co-operative Bank was ahead of its closest competitor Equity Group, all keen to dominate the SME financing business in Kenya.
This award is given to companies that deliver top-notch financial products and services to their SME clients. The 2023 Global SME Finance Award winners were announced during the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 in Mumbai, India.
Across all categories, a record 165 applications were submitted from 120 different institutions. 30 applications were identified by an independent, expert panel of 85 judges as winners.
The Global SME Finance Awards 2023 is organized by the SME Finance Forum and endorsed by the G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI).
The Global SME Finance Awards provide an opportunity for institutions to showcase and share their good practices and knowledge.
Launched in 2018 and now in its sixth year, the Global SME Finance Awards capture the effective and successful practices of financiers, honoring 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, there were four award categories: 1) SME Financier of the Year, which was broken down by region, 2) Product Innovation of the Year, 3) Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs and 4) Sustainable Bond of the Year, which was broken down into Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds of the year.
This year’s competition was the second in partnership with the IFC’s Green Bond Technical Assistance Program (GB-TAP), awarding meritorious institutions with the distinction of Sustainable Bond of the Year.
The winning entries represent the growing number of financial institutions that recognize that Green, Social, and Sustainability Bonds have a crucial role to play in tackling the ongoing climate crisis, helping financial institutions achieve their Sustainable Development Goals.
Co-operative Bank of Kenya Market Capitalization at the NSE
Co-op Bank of Kenya, with a market capitalization of US$ 490.7 Million took the top pole position ahead of NMB of Tanzania and Equity Group which got the Silver and Platinum Awards respectively.
