Equity Group Holdings has reported a 55 percent increase in profit after tax to KSh 75.5 billion for the full year 2025, the highest in Kenyan corporate history – and simultaneously disclosed KSh 99.5 billion, equivalent to approximately $771 million, in cumulative social impact and sustainability investment.
The announcement, made in Nairobi on Wednesday, marks one of the most significant tests yet of whether large African financial institutions can make a credible claim to impact-linked returns.
The profit figure, up from KSh 48.8 billion in FY2024, was driven by a 17 percent rise in net interest income to KSh 126.9 billion, a 7 percent gain in non-funded income to KSh 90.8 billion, and a sharp improvement in cost efficiency. The cost-to-income ratio fell from 58.2 percent to 51.0 percent, the Group said, as customers migrated to digital channels, with 88.4 percent of transactions now processed digitally and fewer than 2 percent conducted inside branches.
“We are evolving beyond traditional banking into a Transformation Finance Institution that mobilises capital, connects ecosystems and accelerates inclusive, sustainable prosperity across Africa.”, Dr. James Mwangi, Group CEO
The KSh 99.5 billion figure spans education, enterprise development, health, climate, and digital inclusion programmes administered through Equity Group Foundation (EGF), the Group’s social investment subsidiary.
The Foundation reported training nearly one million entrepreneurs during the period, supporting over 500,000 micro, small and medium enterprises in accessing KSh 401 billion in credit, and extending healthcare through a network of 150 Equity Afya centres that served 4.6 million patients. On climate, the Group said it had planted 44.6 million trees, distributed more than 500,000 clean energy products, and trained 3.8 million farmers in climate-smart agriculture techniques.
Equity’s social investment measurement operates under the Sustainable Disclosure Impact Data (SDID) framework, a global standard under which the Group was recognised at the 2025 Sustainable CSR Awards. The programmes span a scholarship portfolio supporting 1,115 students at global universities, a youth digital skills initiative that has trained over 600,000 young people in artificial intelligence and data analytics, and an MSME lending book that the Kenya Bankers Association says accounts for 45 percent of all bank lending to small businesses in Kenya.
Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi framed the dual disclosures as evidence of a strategic evolution. “The 2025 performance reflects the success of our deliberate transformation into a diversified, regional financial services group,” he said in a statement. “As we progress toward our 2030 ambitions, we are evolving beyond traditional banking into a Transformation Finance Institution.”
Regional Expansion and a Rising Dividend
Regional subsidiaries now account for approximately half of Group banking profitability, a milestone that underscores how far Equity has travelled from its Kenyan roots. The Democratic Republic of Congo operation posted a 58 percent rise in profit after tax to KSh 24.7 billion. Uganda surged 500 percent to KSh 3.6 billion. Rwanda and Tanzania also delivered double-digit growth.
The Group’s insurance arm, Equity Insurance Group, reported gross written premiums of KSh 9.17 billion, up 75 percent, after obtaining life, general, and health underwriting licences. Equity Life Assurance alone holds 19.2 million policies issued since inception, the Group said.
The Board has recommended a final dividend of KSh 5.75 per share, up from KSh 4.25 a year earlier, representing a payout of KSh 21.7 billion and 35.3 percent dividend growth. The Group’s balance sheet expanded 9 percent to KSh 1.97 trillion, with net loans rising 8 percent to KSh 882.5 billion.
Equity’s 2030 strategy targets operations in 15 countries and a customer base of 100 million. The Group says it is investing in next-generation AI-enabled systems to lower the cost of serving customers and to extend access to credit, insurance, and investment products across the continent.
