The International Finance Corporation has announced a plan to loan KSh5.4 billion ($50 million) to I&M Bank Kenya, the biggest subsidiary of I&M Holdings. The loan will be used to enhance I&M’s capitalization and to boost the bank’s lending to Micro, Small, and Medium-sized enterprises.
I&M Bank Kenya is the 9th largest bank in Kenya by assets, and one of the top lenders to the trade and manufacturing sectors in the country.
The loan by IFC will have a maturity of up to 7 years and a 5-year grace period. Besides the loan, the International Finance Corporation will provide non-financial support in the form of knowledge, innovation, and capacity building in green assets financing to support the Kenyan lender as it establishes a green assets portfolio in Kenya.
IFC, which is the private investment arm of the World Bank, aims to improve access to credit by SMEs and to promote banking sector resilience by enhancing the capital adequacy ratio of I&M Bank Kenya.
In December 2020, IFC issued a KSh1.1 billion loan to I&M Rwanda to enable the bank to increase lending to thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
