Equity has continued to prove that doing well can go hand in hand with doing good. This has
over time earned the lender trust capital that has enabled it to grow in leaps and bounds. This is evidenced in the top positions it scored in the Brand Finance’s Brand Strength and Brand value index released earlier this year.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy
with its headquartered in London, and a presence in more than 20 countries.
In the Banking category, Equity was ranked as the 5th strongest banking brand in the world,
with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) Score of 90.8 out of 100 and an elite AAA+ brand strength
rating. The only other banking brand in the continent that scored a AAA+ rating was South
Africa’s First National Bank (FNB).
The key drivers of a strong brand are strong stakeholder perceptions of its range of products
and services, the quality of its digital platforms, strong customer service and overall
accessibility to customers.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Equity has continued to offer innovative and
convenient services to its customers alongside investing heavily into the development of
innovative solutions and products that meet customers’ evolving lifestyles. Key among them
is the digital banking suite which offers flexible, convenient and secure transactions without
having to physically visit bank branches.
This focus on innovation has allowed Equity to continue delivering successful products, and
services and build a strong portfolio which positions the brand for its next face of growth.
Currently, Equity has rolled out an ambitious plan dubbed “the Africa Recovery and
Resilience Plan.” It envisages providing financing of up to 2% of the combined GDPs of the
six countries it operates in in the form of blended financing of short-term loans, medium term
loans and credit facilities which require long-term project and development financing.
This plan is part of the bank’s interventions in helping the regional economy build back better
from the pandemic.
The Plan comprises 6 strategic pillars that ensure a systematic and holistic framework for
execution:
- Ecosystems of natural resources in agriculture and extractives: more coordinated,
connected, and capacitated supply chains and mechanization that will drive higher
throughput of raw materials and ultimately lead to a more inclusive industrialization of
Africa. - Manufacturing and logistics ecosystem: Africa has an opportunity to leverage off and
expand existing productive capacities to industrialize by connecting to global value
chains that are in the process of regionalizing and diversifying. - Trade and investment: access to new markets, technology, capital, and skills
intended to enrich and enhance offtake of African products and services - MSMEs connectivity of small businesses into formal value chains which will drive
inclusive, broader, and more sustainable growth - Social and environmental transformation: capacity building of value chain
stakeholders, especially amongst smallholder farmers and MSMEs that will drive
productivity gains of African value chains - Technology-enabled economy: online businesses to accelerate connectivity and velocity in ecosystems.
Equity Group CEO & MD, Dr James Mwangi said “The Africa Recovery & Resilience Plan will have special focus on youth and women, supporting them to be the primary drivers of creating and expanding opportunities in the real economy. Under the Young Africa Works Initiative in partnership and collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, the plan will build capacity in young people through financial literacy, entrepreneurship training and digital literacy.”
It is this kind of focus on the bigger picture which includes impact programs like Wings to Fly,
Elimu scholarships and Equity Leaders Program that makes it a brand that is so easy to
identify with; even beyond its products.
Stacked up against other Kenyan brands, Equity leads the pack in brand strength. KCB
Group and Safaricom both have a AAA BSR and a BSI score of 87.7 and 85.8 respectively.
Other strong Kenyan brands in the Brand Finance rating are Co-Operative Bank, Bamburi
Cement, Tusker, M-Pesa, NCBA, Diamond Trust Bank and Kenya Airways.