Equity Group Holdings has resumed its pan-African expansion after a six-year hiatus, targeting entry into eight more countries over the next four years.

 

The lender operates in seven countries and aims to expand to 15 markets by 2030, growing its customer base to nearly 100 million from 22.4 million as of December 2025.

The ambitious expansion plan had been on hold since 2020 after failed acquisition attempts in Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania, amid valuation concerns and Covid-19 disruptions.

Group managing director and CEO James Mwangi told an investor briefing in Nairobi on Wednesday that Ethiopia is among the markets under serious consideration.“We are open (to the Ethiopian market), we are looking at the legal framework that has been set; we are seeking clarifications, we are looking at that opportunity, and it’s no secret that Ethiopia is one of the countries that will make us reach 15 countries by 2030,” Mr Mwangi said.‎”We want to enter into eight more countries by 2030. We are currently in seven.”The group posted a 55 percent jump in net profit to Ksh71.9 billion ($584 million) for the year ended December 2025, driven by strong performance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

It set aside Ksh21.7 billion ($168 million) for dividends, translating to Ksh5.75 ($0.04) per share.

In 2024, net profit stood at Ksh48.8 billion ($378 million), with dividends of Ksh16 billion ($124 million), or Ksh4.25 ($0.03) per share.

The earnings growth was supported by lower loan loss provisions and reduced funding and operating costs, even as the loan book and customer deposits grew modestly at eight percent and four percent, respectively.

Strategy shiftEquity’s pan-African expansion strategy was first announced in 2015, targeting markets including Ethiopia, Burundi and DRC, before extending to Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and later West Africa, eyeing Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon.

The group only succeeded in entering DRC in 2015 through the acquisition of ProCredit Bank, later merged with BCDC in 2020 to form EquityBCDC, now one of the country’s largest banks.

Equity currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and DRC, and maintains a representative office in Ethiopia.

Its planned acquisition of British financial services conglomerate Atlas Mara subsidiaries in Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda and Tanzania also fell through due to valuation concerns and pandemic-related uncertainty.

The group instead shifted focus to consolidating operations in existing markets.“During uncertain times, you don’t want to go into uncertain markets. It was a blessing in disguise that our risk appetite at that time was not good for the uncertainty,” Mr Mwangi told The EastAfrican in 2023.

Regional engineThe strategy is now delivering results.

As of March 2026, subsidiaries contribute nearly half of group banking profits, underlining the strength of regional operations.

In 2025, regional subsidiaries contributed Ksh36.3 billion ($281 million), or 48.07 percent of total profit.

DRC and Rwanda were the largest contributors, posting Ksh24.7 billion ($191 million) and Ksh5.4 billion ($42 million) in profit after tax, respectively.

Uganda and Tanzania recorded Ksh3.6 billion ($28 million) and Ksh2.7 billion ($21 million), while South Sudan posted a loss of Ksh100 million ($775,193.79).

Kenyan operations remained the single largest contributor, generating Ksh39.2 billion ($304 million) in net profit.

Uganda recorded the fastest growth at 500 percent, followed by Tanzania (125 percent) and DRC (58 percent), while Rwanda was flat and South Sudan declined. Equity Bank Kenya posted 63 percent growth.

Following the acquisition of Rwanda’s Cogebank in December 2023, the group signalled continued interest in acquisitions to deepen its presence in existing markets.

© Copyright 2026 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).