Equity Bank Features in High Impact Entrepreneurship Book by World Bank

Equity Bank has been featured in Developing Africa’s Financial Services book by World Bank which aims at highlighting The Importance of High-Impact Entrepreneurship in Africa and the world in general.

The book which was published by Emerald Publishing in conjunction with the World Bank delivers a compelling argument for the idea that a key way to lift African economies is through indigenous high impact entrepreneurs because they know how to best act as role models for other Africans and inspire their fellow entrepreneurs.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum in 2014, entrepreneurship decreased by 20 percent, because high impact entrepreneurs grow faster, create more jobs, contribute to the society and transform industries to a greater extent than their peers.

The report further indicates that two out of four percent of entrepreneurs can be considered the high impact, and the driving force behind 40 percent of all total jobs created.

“Africa’s economic performance, in terms of growth in GDP per head, is less than half that of South Asia, while Africa has over twice the level of unemployment. However, the biggest challenge in the continent is access to finance and how to use technology to increase access,” said Prof. Dana T. Redford, who edited the book.

The Equity Bank’s high-impact entrepreneurial turnaround story that has seen it moving from insolvency to a market leader and a force to reckon with in the world, has earned it a chapter in Developing Africa’s Financial Services story.

Equity’s story in the book showcases ways in which the bank is a strong partner for aspiring entrepreneurs and how it promotes financial inclusion in Kenya. Chapter 6 of the book, which focuses on the bank shows how the bank has approached its customers using entrepreneurial mindset and culture, a pre-condition for the success in any business.

“Our past, present and future success require that we adopt a high impact entrepreneurial mindset and a corporate culture that inspires innovation and “intrapreneurship,” said Dr. James Mwangi, the CEO, and MD of Equity Bank.

Equity Bank, which is considered by many an incubator for entrepreneurs, has been lauded for successfully using an approach that centers on entrepreneurial capabilities – Acquisition of human capital, Development of employees, Utilization of staff capabilities and maintenance by staff retention (ADUM model) – to build this entrepreneurial mindset and culture.

Dr. Mwangi also pointed out that “as a Bank, our partnership with entrepreneurs goes beyond money and building financial inclusion. It also extends into training and mentoring entrepreneurs to prepare them for success. This contributes heavily to building high-impact entrepreneurial ventures that overcome challenges and positively impact millions of people.”

So far, Equity Bank has trained close to 1.6 million entrepreneurs including farmers, women, youth groups, and micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises through various initiatives led by the Equity Group in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the International Labour Organisation.