Equity Bank Group’s shareholders have approved its plans to open a representative office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), moving it closer to its first expansion beyond Africa in growth drive.
Awaiting regulatory approval by the Central Bank of Kenya and the Emirati regulator, the representative office will enable Equity Bank to fund Kenyan and East African firms and investors with business interests in the Emirates and even for foreign traders, expanding its market base and customer portfolio.
A representative officer is a physical presence for a bank in a foreign country that serves as a marketing and liaison point but is not allowed to conduct banking business such as deposit-taking or lending for local banking customers.
The bank said the expansion into the Gulf nation is meant to enable it “to facilitate business, trade and investment opportunities between East and Central Africa, the UAE, and the wider Middle East, India, Central and South Asia regions.”
“The establishment of a representative office in the UAE marks a strategic step in deepening regional and global connectivity. With our shareholders’ continued trust, we are confident in our ability to drive meaningful transformation, sustainable development, and long-term value creation across the continent,” said Equity Group Chairman Isaac Macharia.
Equity Bank will be the first Kenyan lender with a representative office in the Middle East, marking a major milestone for the country’s financial industry.
Currently, Equity has a representative office in Addis Ababa.
The lender’s shareholders also approved the proposed dividend of Sh4.25 per share, paving the way for the payment of Sh16 billion in dividends by the end of June.
They also elected six new members of the board of directors – Faridah Khambata, Nick O’Donohoe, Aloysius Uche Ordu, Obadiah Barara, Lakshmi Shyam-Sunder, and David Mutombo.
