JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Nov 19 – Equity Group CEO and Managing Director James Mwangi says the lender will leverage its increasingly profitable subsidiaries to drive its Pan-African expansion plan, targeting operations in 15 countries by 2030.
Speaking at the B20 Summit in Johannesburg, Mwangi said the bank intends to enter new regional markets to cement its continental footprint.
He cited Ethiopia – where Equity has operated a representative office for about six years – as a priority market following the opening of licensing opportunities for foreign financial institutions.
Mwangi said the performance of existing subsidiaries shows the Group’s cross-border investments are beginning to pay off.
The lender, which operates in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reported a 32 percent jump in net profit to Sh54.1 billion in the nine months to September 2025, compared to a similar period last year.
Its DRC unit posted a 21 percent rise in net profit to Sh13.8 billion, while Equity Bank Uganda’s profit grew to Sh2.9 billion from Sh1.8 billion. The Tanzanian subsidiary nearly doubled its earnings to Sh1.5 billion from Sh800 million.
Mwangi singled out the DRC – which continues to expand due to minerals and regional trade routes – as a key growth engine for the Group’s future expansion strategy.
The B20 Summit (Business 20), the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community, will culminate in a high-level gathering to present policy recommendations to G20 leaders between November 22 and 23, 2025.
The Summit brings together thousands of business representatives, including CEOs, from G20 countries and beyond to articulate the private sector’s perspectives on global economic and trade priorities.
Its primary goal is to develop actionable policy recommendations that inform the G20’s decision-making process and shape the global economic agenda.
