Africa’s best bank for CSR 2017: Kenya Commercial Bank

Awards for Excellence 2017

© 2017 Euromoney

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Kenya Commercial Bank wins this year’s award for best bank for corporate social responsibility in Africa for the work of the KCB Foundation and, in particular, two ground-breaking initiatives.  Last year, it launched 2jiajiri (‘let’s employ ourselves’) – a youth enterprise development and employment initiative that works in partnership with more than 100 technical training institutions across Kenya. More than 12,000 students have taken part so far in the programme, which aims to turn young people into entrepreneurs by training them and connecting them to graduates in law, accounting and marketing to help them get their businesses off-the-ground. 

It also offers graduates the option to let large, experienced companies such as Toyota take a stake in their business. KCB also ring-fenced KSh50 billion ($483 million) to finance the businesses created by the programme. Kenya has the highest rate of youth unemployment in eastern Africa – double that of neighbouring countries – and 2jiajiri offers a long-term solution towards closing the gap. Some 50% of last year’s graduates are already running a business.

The second initiative is Mifugo Ni Mali, which targets livestock keepers in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya. Livestock agriculture contributes 12% to Kenya’s GDP, but suffers from climate change-led droughts and poor management. MNM applies a private-public partnership model, whereby participating county governments provide the resources for services and disease management, for example, while the KCB Foundation helps farmers form and run cooperatives, enhance productivity and access markets and credit services. 

KCB has tripled its funding allocation over the next five years from $140 million to $350 million in new lending to the agricultural sector and has set aside another KSh100 million to be disbursed as interest-free loans to farm cooperatives. The programme has engaged veterinary students to provide services to marginalized farmers, as well as connecting farmers and livestock officials with training.