Kingdom Bank opens branch at Gikomba market

When Kingdom Bank launched Faida Dada, a product targeting women entrepreneurs. [File, Standard]

Kingdom Bank has opened a new branch at Gikomba market aiming to capture the expanding pool of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) seeking financial services in Nairobi's bustling trade hub.

The new branch brings to 20 the number of Kingdom Bank branches, a subsidiary of tier one lender Cooperative Bank- and is located on the 1st floor of the Nafuu General Hardware Building.

Managing Director Anthony Mburu said the lender was pleased to open doors to the vibrant Gikomba business community that is renowned for its formidable enterprise and industry.

“We are a bank that has built domain expertise and experience in SME Banking, and we are most confident that the Gikomba community will find our services very fulfilling,” he said during the opening of the new branch.

Thriving with clothing and footwear retail traders and wholesalers, food vendors, woodwork and metal fabricators and much more, Gikomba is the ultimate hub of entrepreneurship in Kenya. Kingdom Bank is eager to serve this flourishing business community.

Kingdom Bank, a subsidiary of the Co-operative Bank since its August 2020 takeover of the stricken Jamii Bora Bank which it rebranded to the current name, has since registered remarkable recovery and reported a Sh36.7 billion asset base and Sh655 million net earnings in 2023.

According to estimates, there are about 10,000 shops and stalls in Gikomba with millions of shillings changing hands daily.

The bank said the opening of brick-and-mortar branches is intended to complement its multi-channel strategy that enables customers to access banking through the outlets that are most convenient to them, including digital banking platforms that include KB Mobile App, Dial *344#, digitisation of payments through M-collections and Till solutions, and internet banking.

“Kingdom Bank continues to explore opportunities to open service outlets in carefully selected locations throughout the country.”

SMEs constitute 98 per cent of businesses in the country and have an annual job creation of 30 per cent of all new jobs.