KCB commits Sh35bn to smallholder farmers

KCB Group has committed Sh35 billion towards lending and capacity building in the agricultural sector over the next five years. The funding is expected to help more than two million farmers including 100,000 youth and women who will now have access to affordable credit facilities.

Announcing the commitment, KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara said the increased funding will constitute five percent of the bank’s loan book, slightly above the current 3.85 percent funding to the sector. Currently, the bank lends nearly Sh14 billion to the agricultural sector.

“These are part of our efforts to leave a solid footprint on the agricultural sector since we appreciate the oft stated fact that agriculture remains the backbone of the economies we operate in,” said Mr Oigara.

Oigara added that the Bank has identified financial inclusion as a key driver of African economies and hence the strategic focus on SMEs, women and the youth. “We have seen the impact that even a small intervention can make for those who did not have access to funding in the past. The multiplier effect in the agricultural sector is enormous,” says Oigara.

Addressing delegates including several Heads of State at the recent African Green Revolution Forum held in Nairobi, Oigara stressed the importance of the agricultural sector to the continent.

MOBILE PHONES

“It is unfortunate that less than one billion dollars of the banks’ lending books goes to the agricultural sector in Africa. Our renewed commitment to the sector will therefore enable us promote Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) making it a real force for social change in the sector,” he said.

Together with MasterCard Foundation, KCB Group has established a Sh3 billion programme that allows farmers access to credit facilities and market information through their mobile phones in Kenya and Rwanda.