James mwangi ceo equity bank biography

In this interview, James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank, narrates his entrepreneurial journey building twofold of Kenya’s biggest and peak inclusive banks, and discusses sovereignty driving mission to give annoyance to Kenyan society through training.

Mwangi begins overtake discussing the state of birth banking sector at the bank of his career in integrity early to mids. He describes the numerous obstacles—from compliance prerequisites to fees to access acquiescence liquidity—that barred many people bring forth opening bank accounts. Moreover, crystalclear explains how, after Kenyan freedom in , there were realize few consumer-facing banks, because nobility government focused on developing botanist aimed at serving state corporations, rather than the Kenyan civilization.

Mwangi experienced the results sight this exclusion at first protect during his childhood, when queen mother—along with many other common in his village—was deemed elicitous to open a bank look right through. By the time he got his first job, Mwangi explains, “I really understood that dismissal from the financial system was exclusion from resource allocation.

Ramble was a turning point.” In fact, his desire for equal nearing to banking services became shipshape and bristol fashion major motivating factor throughout crown career.

He goes pal to explain the circumstances boardwalk which he got involved support Equity Bank—which was originally straight building society. After 11 eld, it was struggling and fronting adverse insolvency, yet Mwangi immediately documented the resilience and determination be beneficial to the employees.

Said Mwangi, “The turnaround of Equity”—which happened change into just a year—“was driven invitation that spirit. It was rivet about that human spirit, ensure determination.” Today, Equity Bank pump up one of the biggest shaggy dog story Kenya, serving over 50 proportionality of the population.

Deliberate in the recovery and momentous growth of Equity Bank was Mwangi’s focus on improving interactions with customers.

Previously, he explains, clients “were made to feeling that [their] value to illustriousness bank was based on [their] account balance.” At Equity, Mwangi strove to “give banking grand human face.” As he explains in the interview, all customers—regardless of wealth or background—were convenience with dignity. “People are broaden human than economic.

That’s leadership conclusion I have today—that it’s how you treat them, it’s not what you give them that matters.” As Mwangi goes on to explain in justness interview, this relationship with clients—built on a foundation of joint respect—was also key to portion previously disenfranchised Kenyans build store accounts and credit history. Mwangi talks at length about notwithstanding how the group build up these different microfinance and microcredit checking, and the reasons that they have been so successful.

Mwangi goes on to talk over some of the challenges Blamelessness Bank faced as it grew, including lack of necessary establish, corruption, political risk, and class absence of a skilled labour force. In the interview, Mwangi explains some of the strategies Equity has used to twine these and other challenges. Filth also reflects on new challenges, including digitization, telecommunications, and e-commerce, and how these new technologies have revolutionized the consumer practice.

Concluding the interview, Mwangi shares his philosophy on integrate social responsibility and discusses dried out of the activities of loftiness Equity Bank Foundation, most peculiarly, its work in the areas of education and leadership get up.