Co-operative Bank Emerges Overall Winner of the 2017 Sustainable Finance Catalyst Award

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya emerged as the overall winner of the much coveted Sustainable Finance Catalyst Award organized by the Kenya Bankers Association.

“Congratulation Co-operative Bank for being declared this year’s overall winner of the Sustainable Finance Catalyst awards for banks and other financial sector players,” read a tweet and statement from Kenya Bankers Association (KBA).

The lender scooped three other awards in various categories that had been outlined by KBA in an award that was meant to award financial institutions that practice catalytic finance which has a direct impact on the financial industry.

In the Case Study: Bank Operations and Policy, Co-operative Bank was the winner followed by Equity Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank.

In the First Category: Practice in the Sustainable Finance, the lender came in third behind Safaricom Limited and Equity Bank.

In the Client Case Study: Commercial, Co-operative Bank took the first position ahead of Equity Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

“This year, the association looked at recognizing exceptional institutions that have embedded sustainable finance practices in their operations,” said the bankers association.

“Sustainability is fully integrated into our business model that stands on the three pillars of Economic sustainability, Social Sustainability, and Environmental Stewardship. As a bank that is predominantly-owned by the 14 million-member Co-operative Movement, we are inclusive by design that has not only enabled us to deliver shared prosperity today, but also helped us build an awareness and prudence to avoid putting future generations in jeopardy,” said Dr. Gideon Muriuki, Group Managing Director & CEO Co-operative Bank.

Co-op Bank was hailed for solely financing the iconic Two Rivers Shopping Mall project to a tune of USD. 80Million resulting in impressive economic, social and environmental development. Key contributions include Shs.889M taxable income, installation of a 2,000 kW grid-connected solar system, economic regeneration of the neighborhood, and over 1000 direct jobs created with 90% of them going to women and youth.

Co-op Bank also stood out for championing Green Finance, by financing investments in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy worth in excess of USD50 Million. These include financing of mini-hydropower plants such as the 6 megawatt Gura Power project of KTDA that replaced the use of fuelwood in tea factories and the 600-kilowatt solar plant by Strathmore University that supplies all energy needs of the campus with surplus sold to the grid, the first solar plant connected to the grid

 The award was launched in 2016 by KBA with an aim of helping financial institutions to be accorded a unique platform to showcase their industrial leadership skills and innovation while reinforcing the role they play towards sustainable development.

The Kenya banking sector has adopted the Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI) Guiding Principles that will guide banks in balancing their business goals with the economic development priorities and socio-environmental concerns.