Equity Group reported a staggering 32% year-on-year surge in Profit After Tax (PAT) for Q3 2025, hitting Kshs 54.1 billion from Kshs 40.9 billion the prior year. This isn’t just a numbers win—it’s the payoff from a bold strategic overhaul anchored in Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, including Generative AI (GAI), machine learning, and data-centric platforms. As East Africa’s economies grapple with trade fragmentation and inflation ebbs, Equity’s Tri-Engine Business Model—blending banking, insurance, and tech ecosystems—isn’t just growing; it’s rearchitecting financial inclusion at scale.
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The results, unveiled today, underscore Equity’s evolution from a Kenyan banking stalwart to a regional Transformation Finance Institution. With 50% of its deposits, loans, and revenues now flowing from subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the group is diversifying risks while amplifying impact. Add in a 71% rocket in insurance premiums and over 98% of transactions shifting to self-service digital channels, and you’ve got a playbook for how African fintech can thrive amid global uncertainty.
Efficiency and diversification drive the surge
Equity’s Q3 metrics paint a picture of operational mastery. Return on Average Equity (RoAE) clocked in at a robust 26.4%, with Return on Average Assets (RoAA) at 4.1%—testaments to sharpened efficiency. The cost-to-income ratio dipped to 50.6% from 55.1%, fueled by a 16% net interest income growth and 3% uptick in non-funded income. Asset quality held firm, with non-performing loans (NPL) coverage at 71.4% and cost of risk at a lean 1.9%.
In Kenya, the flagship market, Equity Bank Kenya led the charge: PAT jumped 51% to Kshs 31.1 billion, net interest income soared 27% to Kshs 53.6 billion (bolstered by a 34% drop in interest expenses), and total equity ballooned 36% to Kshs 171.4 billion. The bank cemented its MSME dominance, capturing 45% of Kenya’s Kshs 201 billion in SME loans disbursed from January to July 2025.
Regionally, the story is one of balanced acceleration:
- DRC (Equity BCDC): PAT up 21% to Kshs 13.8 billion; loans grew 19% to Kshs 302.7 billion; equity rose 28% to Kshs 88.8 billion.
- Uganda: PAT leaped 61% to Kshs 2.9 billion; investment securities expanded 23% to Kshs 39.6 billion; equity up 23% to Kshs 18.5 billion.
- Rwanda: Assets grew 5% to Kshs 122.9 billion on 34% loan book expansion to Kshs 62.3 billion; equity increased 18% to Kshs 19.6 billion.
- Tanzania: PAT nearly doubled (88%) to Kshs 1.5 billion; loans surged 51% to Kshs 37.4 billion; shareholders’ funds up 83% to Kshs 12.1 billion.
This regional muscle now accounts for 45% of pre-tax profits, turning Equity into a true cross-border engine.
Tech at the core
Equity’s secret sauce? A multi-year digital metamorphosis mapped to its 2030 Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan (ARRP). The group has gutted and rebuilt its infrastructure with scalable, GAI-infused platforms, placing data analytics as the strategic north star. Applications now boast embedded security, machine learning for personalization, and innovations like 24/7 seamless services across borrowing, investing, insurance, payments, and savings.
Over 87.4% of the 98% branchless transactions occur digitally, compressing costs and democratizing access. Fraud controls, AI governance, and integrations with e-commerce APIs are fortifying this ecosystem, aligning with ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS standards. The result: System stability restored post-transformation hiccups, uptime soaring, and a “product house” model rolling out hyper-targeted solutions for segmented markets—from agribusiness SMEs to urban millennials.
Bancassurance as the new growth vector
Diversification isn’t a buzzword; it’s baked in. Equity’s insurance arm exploded, with Profit Before Tax up 36% to Kshs 1.46 billion on 71% gross written premium growth to Kshs 6.55 billion. The balance sheet swelled 36% to Kshs 32.1 billion.
Break it down:
- Equity Life Assurance (3rd year): 28% premium growth to Kshs 4.9 billion; served 6.8 million customers with 17.8 million policies; RoAE at 37.7%.
- Equity General Insurance (new entrant): Kshs 1.67 billion premiums in 9 months; Profit Before Tax Kshs 140 million; 126% capital adequacy.
- Equity Health Insurance (licensed July 2025): Early Kshs 5 million premiums; Profit Before Tax Kshs 23 million.
With three underwriting licenses secured, Equity is tackling East Africa’s paltry 1.34% insurance penetration, aiming for double digits via tech-enabled risk management. Non-banking units (tech + insurance) now contribute 3% of revenues (up from 2.8%) and boast a 38% RoE—outpacing the banking core.
Equity Foundation’s ripple effect
Beyond balance sheets, the Equity Group Foundation (EGF) amplified its mandate. Under the Young Africa Works partnership with Mastercard Foundation, it empowered 720,968 underserved MSMEs with Kshs 78 billion in loans (backed by a USD 20M guarantee). Key wins:
- Education: 145 scholars snagged Kshs 3.8 billion in global scholarships, including 16 Ivy League spots; cumulative 1,115 admissions.
- Enterprise: 30,000 entrepreneurs trained; 91,000 MSMEs accessed Kshs 38 billion credit; Equity topped SME lending with Kshs 90.727 billion YTD.
- Agriculture/Climate: 80,000 farmers upskilled in climate-smart practices; 535,000 clean-energy solutions distributed, impacting 2.1 million; 39.6 million trees planted.
- Health/Innovation: Equity Afya hit 4.3 million patient visits across 147 centers; 600,000 youth targeted for AI/ML training via iamtheCODE and Huawei.
Awards capped the quarter: “Best Regional Bank in East Africa” at the 2025 African Banker Awards and Kenya’s most valuable brand for the second year.
What they say
Equity’s leaders, led by Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi, didn’t mince words on the transformation’s momentum. Here’s the unfiltered insight:
“The execution of the strategic business plan has started to reflect on the balance sheet and performance of the Group in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, trade and investment, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that populate the eco-systems of the formal sector in these value chains and is likely to significantly and increasingly transform the structure and performance of the Group.”
“Our Q3 2025 performance reflects the strength of our diversified tri-engine business model, operational efficiency, and continued commitment to transforming lives,” said Dr. Mwangi. “By empowering MSMEs, leveraging digital platforms, and aligning with Africa’s socio-economic and sustainability priorities, we continue to drive inclusive growth and create shared prosperity. We are particularly proud of our regional subsidiaries, which have demonstrated resilience and contributed significantly to our overall performance.”
“We appreciate our customers for their continued support and patience throughout our transformation journey, despite the challenges experienced during the period,” Dr. Mwangi added. “This transformation marks our evolution into a one-stop financial services provider, offering borrowing, investing, insurance, payments, and savings solutions seamlessly, 24 hours a day. With system stability now fully restored, we are focused on expanding our product offerings to better serve our customers and enhance their opportunities for wealth creation. Importantly, this transformation has not changed our true north, our unwavering commitment to supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises. We are proud that industry data shows Equity is home to 45% of all SME loans disbursed this year. We remain dedicated to exploring greater opportunities to make this our core focus.”
On tech’s pivotal role: “Technology remains central to the Group’s strong operational performance and strategic resilience. During the quarter, we further improved system reliability, launched key digital integrations across markets, strengthened fraud controls, and advanced our AI and data governance frameworks. Through investments in modern architecture, emerging AI and data capabilities and the transformation to platform-based business models with integrated ecosystems, we have future-proofed our operations and enhanced service uptime and stability across all markets. This approach not only strengthens brand trust and customer confidence but also positions the Group to capture emerging opportunities in digital finance, data innovation and ecommerce.”
“As part of our multi-year information security transformation and remediation program, we continue to invest heavily in security and compliance frameworks aligned with regulatory expectations and international standards such as ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS. These investments assure data protection and safeguard our digital ecosystem as transaction volumes and API integrations scale,” Dr. Mwangi emphasized.
Wrapping with optimism: “The strong growth in the region presents a long-term runway and significant headroom for sustained expansion of the Group. We are deeply grateful to our customers for their continued support throughout the transformation journey, for their patience and resilience during the temporary system disruptions. These changes are part of our commitment to building a transformative institution: a one-stop financial services provider enabling customers to save, borrow, insure, invest, and transact seamlessly on a 24-hour basis. We are pleased to share that the system instability is now behind us. Our focus has shifted to product innovation, with our product houses actively rolling out new offerings to empower our customers and unlock greater opportunities for wealth creation. Importantly, this transformation has not altered our true north, our unwavering commitment to micro, small, and medium enterprises. We are proud to be recognized in the recent banking industry survey as the home of 45% of all SME loans disbursed between January and July this year. We remain dedicated to expanding this impact and exploring new avenues to support SMEs as our core focus.”
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