Family Bank has secured a $10 million (Sh1.3 billion) financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) as it seeks to increase lending to Kenya’s importers and exporters.
The facility will see the lender access foreign currency from the AfDB to bankroll small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local corporates, especially those in the manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and renewable energy sectors.
Family Bank said it will also target women-owned businesses. The recently listed lender seeks to strengthen its ability to lend to small businesses, which make up over 80 percent of its customer base.
‘This facility strengthens our capacity to scale up lending to MSMEs, which form over 80 percent of our customer base, while addressing financing gaps that continue to constrain business growth,’ said Family Bank chief executive Nancy Njau.
Kenyan importers and exporters face challenges accessing affordable trade finance – financial products banks use to make buying and selling goods across borders easier. This includes foreign currency needed to settle transactions.
‘The financing will ease the pressure on exporters, importers in Kenya, help unlock new opportunities for sustainable economic activity and ultimately reduce Africa’s trade finance gap, currently estimated at more than $74 billion (Sh9.6 trillion),’ said Lamin Drammeh, AfDB’s head of trade finance.
Family Bank was set up in 1984 and became a fully-fledged commercial bank in 2007. It listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on June 23, 2026, at Sh18 per share. It was trading at Sh27.95 on Monday afternoon.
AfDB is among major financiers from which Kenyan banks have taken credit to fund their loans to local and regional businesses.
The loans are usually provided over the medium to long term in foreign currencies, helping banks to overcome the challenge of relying heavily on short-term deposits to fund multi-year loans.