Proparco has granted Equity Bank two guarantee facilities, ARIZ and EURIZ totalling €39 million (5 billion KES) 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.
On the occasion of the visit to Kenya of the French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester, Proparco and Equity further strengthened their relationship by signing two new guarantees and of a technical assistance grant.
The first, a €19,5 million (2.5 billion KES) ARIZ guarantee will cover 50% of the amount of eligible loans allocated by Equity Bank to Kenyan MSMEs.
The second, a €19,5 million (2.5 billion KES) EURIZ guarantee will cover up to 70% of loans granted to women entrepreneurs or to MSMEs in sectors with a high social or societal impact such as Agriculture, Fisheries, Education and Health. Launched in May 2019 with the support of the European Union (EU) and the European Development Fund, and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the EURIZ guarantee aims to facilitate access to credit for MSMEs, in particular in sectors with a high development impact, in order to help them play their essential role in economic growth and job creation.
The two guarantees, which amount to a total of €39 million (5 billion KES), are the largest ever granted by Proparco to a financial institution.
Proparco also allocated today a €550,000 (70 million KES) technical assistance grant to the Equity Group Foundation (EGF).
“We want to see continued progress for our SME and MSMEs as the world opens up and by working together with partners such as Proparco, the European Union (EU) and the European Development Fund, and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), we are offering our clients a way to empower themselves while creating economic opportunities for wealth creation for our people”, stated Equity Group MD Dr. James Mwangi.
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