MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equator Capital Acquires Minority Interest in Kenya’s Jamii Bora Bank

Equator Capital Partners LLC, a US-based fund manager, through its fund ShoreCap II Limited, recently acquired a minority interest in Jamii Bora Bank Limited, a commercial bank based in Kenya whose customer base is made up primarily of micro-savers and borrowers.The value and the terms of the investment have not been disclosed.

ShoreCap II Limited, which is domiciled in Mauritius, focuses on investing in small-business banks and microfinance institutions. The fund has committed capital of USD 80 million. For the financial year ended December 2015, Jamii Bora Bank reported assets worth KES 16.8 billion (approximately USD 169 million) and total profit before tax of KES 36 million (approximately USD 0.4 million).

By Imke Herholdt, Research Associate

About Equator Capital Partners LLC
Equator Capital Partners LLC is an “impact” fund manager based in the US city of Chicago, Illinois, that is focused on “inclusive finance”. The organization has invested in 21 financial institutions in 25 countries through two funds, ShoreCap International Limited, which closed in 2014, and ShoreCap II Limited, which is domiciled in Mauritius and has committed capital totalling USD 80 million.

About Jamii Bora Bank Limited
Jamii Bora Bank began operations in 1999 as a microfinance institution organized as a charitable trust by 50 impoverished families in Nairobi. On January 1, 2007, Jamii Bora Kenya Limited took over the micro-finance operations of the trust. In 2010, Jamii Bora Kenya Limited merged with City Finance Bank, a commercial bank established in 1985, to become Jamii Bora Bank. As of June 2016, the bank has a customer base of 400,000 and 26 branches across Kenya. Major shareholders in the bank include Jamii Bora Scandinavian Group with a 25-percent stake, Messrs Asterisk with a 25-percent stake, Jamii Bora Africa Group with a 12-percent stake and Nordic Micro with a five percent stake. For the year ended December 2015, the bank reported assets worth KES 16.8 billion (approximately USD 169 million) and total profit before tax of KES 36 million (approximately USD 0.4 million).

Sources and Additional Resources
[1] Information provided directly by Equator Capital Partners LLC
[2] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Equator Capital Partners LLC
[3] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Jamii Bora Bank Limited
[4] Jamii Bora Bank

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