Equity Group has joined the race for the Ethiopian market. The bank’s CEO James Mwangi revealed that they had sent a request to Ethiopian authorities seeking permission to operate in the country. Equity Group is ranked as the largest bank in East Africa by customer numbers. The lender already has subsidiaries in neighbouring Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo, and South Sudan.
The Ethiopian market is attractive to investors due to the large size of the unbanked population. Its banking sector is going through a transition to make it more conducive for investors. As a result, foreign banks such as KCB Group and Equity Group have shown a keen interest in the market.
Equity’s Chief Executive also said that they are seeking final approval to begin operating in Zambia and Mozambique. Additionally, the bank has its eyes on seven other African nations where it plans to open businesses in three years.
The bank posted KSh6.2 billion net profit in the first quarter of 2019, a 6 per cent increase from KSh5.9 billion posted the previous year. Its earnings were weighed down by increased operating expenses and growth in the amount of loan loss provisions. In the first three months of 2019, Equity managed to grow its customer deposits by KSh5.8 billion to reach KSh428.5 billion.
