The European Investment Bank (EIB) has loaned $56 million to Kenya’s Co-operative Bank for lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to help them recover from the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The long-term loan will be repayable in seven years and will assist MSMEs fund the acquisition of tangible business assets, working capital, development of distribution networks innovation and business research.
Coop Bank CEO Gideon Muriuki says SMEs with up to 250 workers can apply for the loan. The credit facility will be available for up to a maximum of KSh1.5 billion per customer.
Earlier this month, Proparco also granted Equity Bank two guarantee facilities, ARIZ and EURIZ totalling €39 million (KSh5 billion) to help the Kenyan bank further support MSMEs. Proparco also granted a €550,000 technical assistance facility to support Equity Group Foundation’s health projects.
Proparco and Equity Bank have been partners for three years thanks to a $22.8 million loan granted in 2019 and a $100 million loan granted in October 2020, both intended to support the Bank’s commitment to Kenya’s MSMEs the actors in the real economy.
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