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Kenya’s Family Bank Limited has secured a $10 million trade finance line of credit from the African Development Bank. The facility not only aims to boost trade finance activities in Kenya but also targets critical foreign currency gaps by channelling resources to small businesses in the country.
“Today’s signing is timely and significant, as it will ease the pressure on exporters, importers in Kenya, help unlock new opportunities for sustainable economic activity and ultimately reduce Africa’s trade finance gap, currently estimated at more than US$74 billion,” said Lamin Drammeh, Head of Trade Finance, African Development Bank.
Founded in 1964, the African Development Bank Group is the continent’s premier development finance institution that brings together 54 regional member countries and 27 non-African countries (“non-regional member countries”) from the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The main objective of the organisation is to contribute to sustainable economic growth and social progress of African countries as well as to promote cooperation and international trade across the African continent.
Alex Mubiru, the Bank’s Director General for the East Africa region, stressed that the $10 million trade finance line of credit reaffirms the AfDB’s commitment to empower local businesses and strengthen Kenya’s financial ecosystem. It aims to achieve this by addressing critical trade finance gaps in agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and general commerce, with the goal being set to expand access to financing that supports the country’s growing import needs.
Established in 1984 as Family Bank Building Society with just one branch, the Family Bank evolved into a full-fledged commercial bank in 2007. It is now regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya and operates 95 branches across 32 counties. The bank has over 1.2 million customers and focuses on SME banking.
“As we execute our 2025–2029 strategy, we remain focused on expanding access to tailored financing for businesses, including women-owned and women-led MSMEs. This facility strengthens our capacity to scale up lending to MSMEs, which form over 80% of our customer base, while addressing financing gaps that continue to constrain business growth,” said Nancy Njau, CEO, Family Bank.
The facility announced today will enable the African Development Bank to provide the much-needed foreign currency to mobilise financial resources for SMEs as well as local corporates in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors. The credit line will also support health and renewable energy, as well as Women Owned Businesses, which will facilitate deepening of value chains and diversification of productive capacity in Kenya.
Beyond meeting domestic financial goals, the facility will also help meet the import trade finance needs of small and medium-sized enterprises and local corporates in Kenya. It will also support intra-African trade and contribute directly to the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda.
“As a Bank, we are committed to ensuring that this financing translates into tangible opportunities for businesses and contributes meaningfully to inclusive economic growth,” added Njau.
