Equity Bank Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi has revealed the African countries the lender is targeting as part of its expansion plan to operate in 15 countries by 2030.
Speaking during the presentation of the first-quarter financial results for the period ended March 31, 2026, on Tuesday, May 19, Mwangi said the bank’s regional expansion strategy is heavily informed by trade routes and growing economic integration across Africa.
The CEO disclosed that Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique are among the markets Equity Bank is considering for expansion.
“It is an open secret that we want to be in 15 countries by 2030,” he said.
Equity Bank Eyes Angola, Zambia and Mozambique Markets
The lender had earlier expanded into Uganda because it had the highest trade traffic with Kenya before moving into Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
According to Mwangi, the entry into the Democratic Republic of the Congo market was driven by the country’s admission into the East African Community (EAC), which transformed it into one of the region’s biggest trade corridors.
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He noted that Equity has already secured a significant foothold in the DRC market, commanding approximately 24 percent market share.
The CEO further disclosed that the bank is now eyeing expansion into Angola, citing opportunities presented by the Lobito Corridor linking Angola and the DRC.
“That corridor also extends to Zambia and Mozambique,” Mwangi said, adding that the rehabilitation of the TAZARA Railway was expected to further boost regional trade and commodity movement.
“As a result, those three countries have become markets of great interest,” he said.
Mwangi also identified Ethiopia as a strategic priority, revealing that Equity has maintained a representative office in the country for the last seven years as it monitors opportunities in the market.
James Mwangi said the group, which currently serves 22.7 million customers across six countries, is targeting 100 million customers by 2030 through organic growth and acquisitions.
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Equity Group Q1 Results
This comes after Equity Group Holdings reported a 31.3% rise in profit before tax to Ksh 24.52 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, as the group crossed the Ksh 2 trillion asset mark for the first time.
The growth was driven by lower funding costs, a significantly improved loan book quality, and accelerating expansion across its regional subsidiaries.
Profit after tax rose by 24.1% to Ksh 19.05 billion, marking the highest first-quarter earnings in the group’s history.
Net interest income increased by 15.6% to Ksh 33.02 billion as the cost of deposits dropped from 3.4% to 2.2%, while interest expenses declined by 19.1% to Ksh 10.78 billion.
