KCB Group has announced plans to inject up to Ksh4 billion into its Tanzanian subsidiary as part of an aggressive strategy to strengthen its regional footprint and accelerate growth in East Africa’s second-largest economy.
Group CEO Paul Russo said the capital injection will be made over the next two years to support lending capacity, enhance digital channels and meet regulatory capital requirements as the bank scales operations in the competitive Tanzanian market.
The move follows KCB Tanzania’s improved performance in 2024, where it swung back into profitability after years of losses following internal restructuring and management overhaul.
Russo said the additional capital will help grow the subsidiary’s balance sheet in high-potential sectors including agriculture, mining, trade finance and small-to-medium enterprises where demand for credit has risen sharply in line with Tanzania’s robust economic growth.
He added that KCB sees Tanzania as a key pillar in its regional expansion strategy and is keen on unlocking the full value of the business after integrating the former Atlas Mara Bank operations it acquired in 2022.
Analysts note KCB Tanzania’s current paid-up capital stands at around Ksh3.5 billion, below the new capital thresholds recently proposed by the Bank of Tanzania, which is encouraging consolidation and recapitalisation of under-capitalised lenders.
The planned Ksh4 billion injection will lift KCB Tanzania comfortably into compliance while allowing it to compete more effectively with larger rivals such as CRDB and NMB Bank.
The funding will be sourced from the group’s retained earnings and will partly go into digitisation of services, branch expansion and development of new products tailored to Tanzania’s fast-growing retail and SME sectors.
KCB Group, Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, operates in seven countries and views regional subsidiaries as important growth engines amid stiff competition in the domestic market.
The lender has already committed over Ksh2 billion into its Rwanda and Uganda units in the past twelve months, signalling its long-term commitment to regional diversification.
Written By Ian Maleve
