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It’s now official. Shorecap III, LP, has acquired 20 per cent of Credit Bank Kenya.

The signing ceremony was held yesterday at a Nairobi hotel where Credit Bank hosted the official onboarding session for Shorecap III LP. 

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had announced the deal early June, and it carried effect June 15, 2023. This followed a CBK’s approval on April 24, 2023, under Section 13(4) of the Banking Act and approval by the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning.

The Competition Authority of Kenya in a no objection had qualified the deal “as a merger within the meaning of section 2 and 41 of the Competition Act No 12 of 2010.”

CBK licensed Credit Bank as a non-banking financial institution in 1986. The bank later converted to a fully-fledged commercial bank in 1995.

As of the time of the merger, the bank had seventeen branches. The bank specializes in the provision of banking services to small corporates and Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). It is categorized as a small bank with a market share of 0.5 per cent.

Shorecap is a private equity fund registered under the laws of Mauritius, with Equator Capital Partners LLC as the managers of the fund.

“This partnership is a win win,” said Betty Korir  (pictured) at the signing ceremony. “Just like us ShoreCap targets the underserved market.”

Credit Bank has a market capitalization of Sh 25 billion, holds Sh18 billion in deposits and has rent out Sh22 billion. 

With this investment the bank seeks to penetrate the market further, and tear into tier two bank categorization. It has invested in technology and carries its customer base as committed allies towards tier two and up categorization.