Family bank, through its partner eco.business has received a significant boost of a USD 5 million loan ( KES 805 million). The funding aims to support sustainability-certified companies, smallholder farmers, and various participants in the agribusiness value chain.
By embracing eco-friendly and climate-smart practices, this initiative seeks to enhance the competitiveness of agribusinesses across the nation.”
In 2022, the fund allocated a USD 10 million investment to the Bank, aimed at promoting sustainable practices within agribusiness value chains.
Expressing enthusiasm for the collaboration, Michael Evers, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the eco.business Fund, stated, “We are delighted to strengthen this promising partnership with Family Bank Kenya. We seek to adopt sustainable practices, playing a pivotal role in biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource utilization, and climate change mitigation and adaptation in this biodiverse region.”
Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations indicate that agriculture plays a crucial role in Kenya’s economy, contributing 33% of the Gross Domestic Product, yet a significant majority of the country’s 7.5 million smallholder farmers, still earn less than USD 6 per day.
Expressing appreciation for the collaboration, Nancy Njau, CEO Designate of Family Bank, highlighted the bank’s strategic efforts to expand its capital base and increase lending to this sector.
She emphasized that the partnership serves as evidence of their ongoing dedication to fostering the growth of local markets by delivering comprehensive value throughout the process.
”We have recorded a significant increase of 25 per cent in our agribusiness portfolio following such partnerships and we are confident that now we can scale up lending to agribusinesses and bridge their financial need to scale climate-smart agriculture technologies to enhance climate resilience,” Nancy reiterated.
This investment targets certified and sustainable agricultural producers in key exporting countries such as Kenya, with the goal of creating a stable demand from developed markets and encouraging local producers to adopt more sustainable production methods.
Notably, this partnership is in line with the eco.business Fund’s mission to address climate change and conserve biodiversity, as it allows the fund to interact with various agribusiness value chains and stakeholders and advocate for sustainable practices within them.
