Co-op Bank CEO Gideon Muriuki/ Twitter. 

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 1 – The Co-operative Bank of Kenya (Co-op Bank) has signed a  Sh6.3 billion deal with the European Union Bank to aid small and medium enterprises recover from the effects of the Covid -19 Pandemic. 

Co-op Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive  Gideon Muriuki said the deal will allow SMEs  with up to 250 workers eligible for the loan facility. 

Muriuki said In this module, long-term loans will be repayable in seven years and will assist small businesses to fund the acquisition of tangible business assets, working capital, development of distribution networks innovation and business research.

“The credit facility will be available for up to a maximum of Sh1.5 billion per customer for a maximum tenor of seven years. Co-operative Bank commitment to the SME sector in Kenya will ensure that this facility will be available immediately,”Muriuki said.

 The latest development is bound to further deepen Co-op Bank’s reach to small businesses across the country, having earlier secured a Sh1.6 billion loan from Swedish State-owned investor Swedfund for onward lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in the country early this year.

The move  comes as the bank profits went up by 20 percent to Sh11.6 billion during the third quarter of 2021 compared to Sh9.8 billion reported over the same period last year. 

The lender, which is majority owned by co-operative societies, revealed that revenue for the period under review grew 19.2 percent to Sh44.4 billion from Sh37.2 billion in the same period last year driven by economic recovery witnessed across the country.