MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Salaam African Bank (SAB) of Djibouti Acquires Uwezo Microfinance Bank of Kenya

Salaam African Bank (SAB) of Djibouti recently acquired Kenya-based Uwezo Microfinance Bank for an undisclosed price. Licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in 2010, Uwezo is a microfinance bank operating in the Starehe division of Nairobi County. Its services include savings, mobile money, remittances and loans for individuals and smaller businesses. According to CBK, Uwezo held total assets of KSH 168 million (USD 1.5 million) and total deposits of KSH 25 million (USD 232,000) as of 2019.

Incorporated in 2007 in Djibouti, SAB is an Islamic bank licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Djibouti. Islamic finance employs mechanisms such as the sharing of profit and loss in lieu of conventional interest payments, which are not allowed under Shariah law. SAB provides services such as credit cards, fee-free savings accounts, investment accounts, asset-based financing and loans. The bank had 11 branches and 18 automated banking machines as of 2019.

By Sophie Fiala, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Business Daily article
https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/companies/-djibouti-lender-acquires-uwezo-microfinance–3407832

Uwezo MFB homepage
https://www.uwezomfbank.com/

SAB homepage
https://www.banksalaam.com/

CBK homepage
https://www.centralbank.go.ke/

CBK supervision annual report 2019
https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/banking_sector_annual_reports/197965474_BSDANNUALREPORT2019%20.pdf

CBK 2021 Microfinance Act
http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/bills/2021/TheCentralBankofKenya_Amendment_Bill_2021.pdf

Banque Centrale de Djibouti homepage
https://banque-centrale.dj/

Banque Centrale de Djibouti 2019 annual report
https://banque-centrale.dj/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Banque-Centrale-de-Djibouti-RASB-2019.pdf

Previous MicroCapital brief on Islamic finance
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-cameroon-to-encourage-islamic-financial-services-microfinance-institutions-to-transform-into-banks-as-part-of-10-year-national-development-strategy/

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