Transnational Bank rebrands to support agribusiness

NAIROBI, KENYA: Transnational Bank has mooted plans to support farmers in the country through increased financing of the entire agricultural value chain. Chief Executive Sammy Lang’at said the bank’s new products would help agri-businesses avoid bottlenecks caused by gaps in the market.

Speaking at last week’s branch opening at City Hall Way, Mr Lang’at said the bank, which started in 1985 by farmers in Rift-Valley and Western Kenya to finance their agribusiness financing needs, is continuously innovating the financing structure for the entire agribusiness value chain.

Sharing the journey of Transnational Bank, General Manager Farid Sheikh said the financial institution has transformed the life of many international renowned companies in Kenya.

Affirming that the bank believes in an enterprising people, several entrepreneurs told of their success stories as a result of partnering with Transnational Bank.

Ms Kalpa Padia, the Managing Director of Raka Milk Processors, told of the growth and the future of the company due to a long-standing relationship with the Bank.

Joshua Chepkwony, the chairman of Jamii Millers, lauded the Bank’s focus on agribusiness, as he compared similar initiatives in China and Angola that have seen the latter use agriculture to develop the economy.

As an entrepreneur behind Jamii Telkom and Kass Media Group, he explained the need for entrepreneurial focused banks aimed at empowering youth in Kenya to build business and create jobs.

Annual growth

Peter Muraya, the Managing Director of Suraya Properties added that such banks are bridges entrepreneurs use to build their ideas. Firmly rooted in agribusiness, the new strategy for the bank is to finance the whole business value chain, enabling the movement of products from the farm to the table.

Africa is estimated to earn an average of 24 per cent of its annual growth from its farmers and their crops and that if supported by financial and non-financial interventions that strengthen the agribusiness value chain, agriculture and agri-business together will contribute over one trillion dollars to the African economy 2030.

As a second ranked Tier IV bank, Transnational Bank is focused on enabling entrepreneurs transform opportunities into economic success.

In the last five years, according to the financial institution, it has used technology and customer valued innovations to triple their growth, compared to the Bank’s performance in the first 25 years of operation. The bank has also grown to 17 branches.