Banking & Finance
Rural Survival:Guardians of Mother Earth,Saving Mau,Revitalizing Native Lands
: Between 2001 and 2002, the Mau Forest deforestation resulted in loss of about 533 square kilometres of tree cover. Now, a group of women, under the aegis of the Paran Women Group, are preparing to plant 100,000 saplings this rainy season to restore the forest.
By Joyce Chimbi
Between 2001 and 2022, the Mau Forest’s deforestation resulted in the loss of about 533 square kilometers of tree cover. Now, a group of women, under the aegis of the Paran Women Group, are preparing to plant 100,000 saplings this rainy season in an effort to restore the forest.
Paran Women Group’s executive director, Naiyan Kiplagat, is working in the forest. The group are passionate guardians of the environment and promoters of gender equality. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. A breathtaking, diverse mix of natural beauty that includes dramatic escarpments, highland mountains, cliffs and gorges, lakes and savannas. It is also home to one of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves—the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
give life to this wondrous natural phenomenon. Located about 170 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, this is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa. It is also the largest of the country’s five watersheds and a catchment area for 12 rivers that flow into five major lakes.
More than 10 million people depend on its rivers. Its magnificent portfolio of rare plants and animal species is unfortunately a magnet for illegal activities. Forest monitoring groups say a staggering 25 percent of the forest was lost between 1984 and 2020 and that overall, Mau Forest lost 19 percent of its tree cover—around 533 square kilometres—between 2001 and 2022.
“Paran Women Group is committed to restoring the Mau Forest. To stop the pace and severity of its destruction and degradation, we approached the government through the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and were allowed access to 200 acres of the Maasai Mau Forest block, which is one of the 22 blocks that make the entire Mau Forest Complex. There are 280 water catchments inside the complex,” Naiyan Kiplagat, the executive director of the Paran Women Group told IPS.
“In January this year, we began our restoration efforts and have already covered 100 acres. At the moment, we have prepared 70,000 seedlings and intend to collect another 30,000 from women groups to reach our target of 100,000 tree seedlings, which will be planted once the rainy season begins to cover the remaining 100 acres.”
In Maa, a language spoken by the Maasai community, Paran means ‘come together to assist each other’. Paran Women Group is an organization comprised of women from the Maasai and Ogiek communities who are indigenous, minority ethnic groups.
Forest rangers working for the Kenya Forest Service are responsible for protecting Kenya’s forests. Paran Women Group are in a partnership with KFS to restore Maasai Mau Forest block. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
There are 280 water catchments inside the expansive Mau Forest Complex. These feed 12 rivers, which in turn feed five major lakes. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
The organization comprises 64 women groups and 3,718 members. United against dual marginalization and patriarchy, the group started small, in 2005 and continues to grow and expand their base and conservation activities.
Carrying the wisdom of their ancestors, they rely on indigenous knowledge and innovation in their conservation, afforestation, reforestation and all other land restoration efforts while promoting gender equality. Paran Women Resource centre is located in Eor Ewuaso, a remote rural village in the Ololunga location of Narok South sub-county, Narok County, in the Rift Valley.
The women hold a title deed to the expansive piece of land. A notable achievement in a minority community where women have little autonomy and land is owned and controlled by men. They have another seven satellite resource centres within the expansive counties geared towards giving women access to productive resources.
These centres are a hub of knowledge and activities to promote conservation and livelihood activities such as sustainable agriculture, beekeeping, beadwork and briquettes for energy-saving cooking to release pressure from the embattled Mau Forest. More than 617 households are already using efficient, energy-saving stoves.
“We are conservationists with a passion for gender equality. Gender-based violence is prevalent in indigenous communities, such as the outlawed Female Genital Mutilation and forced marriages. The most recent incidence was of a nine-year-old girl. We are marginalized as a community in general and worse, our culture has few rights for women and girls. We help children stay in school by paying school fees from our income-generating activities,” she says.
Patrick Lemanyan, a resident of Ololunga, says Paran women “rear and sell chicken and foods such as pumpkin, vegetables and sorghum. They also sell beadwork. Maasai beadwork is unique, beautiful and very marketable. In Nairobi, there is even the popular Maasai market for such beadwork and other Maasai items, such as sandals. The women here face no resistance from the community. We have suffered for many years from failed rainfall and we know that saving the forest is also about saving us as a community.”
Paran Women Resource Centre is located in Eor Ewuaso, a remote rural village in the Ololunga location of Narok South sub-county, Narok County, in Rift Valley. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Some of the jewelry that the women at the Paran Women Group make. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Naiyan says indigenous communities depend on natural resources such as forests, rivers and their biodiversity for their survival. The ongoing climate and biodiversity crises affect them the most as a community. Women have no assets and are therefore worse off.
“The Maasai’s are pastoralists. During prolonged dry seasons, a man will take all the livestock with him and move from place to place for even three years, leaving behind his wives and children. The family is left behind with nothing because women own nothing,” she says.
Naiyan, an Ogiek married to a Maasai, says the Ogiek have not faired any better. As hunters and gathers in an ecosystem that has been destroyed by human activity and climate change, they too are in a life-and-death situation and, are learning to pursue livelihood options outside of their indigenous lifestyle by keeping poultry for sale and farming. Men do not keep or concern themselves with poultry as it is considered beneath them. They keep large livestock such as cows and goats.
Originally pastoralists and hunters and gatherers, the Maasai and Ogiek have turned to sustainable agriculture as a climate adaptation mechanism. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
These are manyattas, Maasai traditional homes. Women from the Maasai and Ogiek communities have joined forces to save their native lands. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
“The role of indigenous groups and more so women, in environmental protection cannot be overemphasized. More so as women are able to combine conservation efforts with income-generating activities. They educate and support each other, and their children grow to school, breaking the debilitating cycle of poverty associated with minority groups due to historical injustices and inequalities,” says Vesca Ikenya, an educator in Gender and Natural Resources.
Stressing that “indigenous people and local communities bring on board indigenous knowledge and leadership that only they possess as custodians of their own lands and waters and have had intimate interactions with their ecosystems since time immemorial. Each generation preserves and passes on this knowledge to the next. When indigenous and local communities take lead in conservation efforts, they never get it wrong. They understand which species grew where and when.”
The Paran Women Group tree nursery is home to 27 indigenous species, including croton macrostacyus, syzygium cuminii, prunus African and Olea Africans. Of the 150,000 tree seedlings already planted this year, 112,500 have survived and are thriving.
According to 2021 International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and International Labour Organization joint report, indigenous peoples were responsible for protecting an estimated 22 percent of the planet’s surface and 80 percent of biodiversity.
The Paran Women Group has not gone unnoticed and has won a series of international awards. In 2018, they received an award on rural survival from the World Women Foundation Summit; in 2020, they received the International Leadership Award from the International Indigenous Women’s Forum; last year, during the COP28 in the UAE, they received the Gender Justice Climate Solutions and are preparing to receive yet another international award in October 2024.
This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.
IPS UN Bureau Report
Banking & Finance
Equity Group Expands Into Southern Africa as It Bets on Africa’s Trade Corridors
FY2025 results show more than half of Equity’s profits now come from regional subsidiaries.
Equity Group targets Angola, Zambia and Mozambique as it expands along Africa’s mineral corridors and deepens regional banking scale.
🧠 Executive Intelligence Overview
As a result of its strong FY2025 performance, Equity Group Holdings is accelerating a major expansion into Southern Africa. The lender is now targeting Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique in a strategic shift that reflects Africa’s evolving trade and mineral corridor economy.
Chief Executive James Mwangi confirmed in a Reuters interview on April 29, 2026, that the group is actively pursuing acquisition opportunities rather than greenfield market entry. This approach signals a deliberate pivot toward established financial institutions in structurally different markets.
Meanwhile, Equity’s strategy is increasingly shaped by Africa’s infrastructure-driven growth corridors, particularly the US-backed Lobito Corridor linking Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to the World Bank, African financial systems are becoming more deeply integrated with trade logistics and commodity supply chains, which is reshaping cross-border banking expansion strategies.
🏛️ 1. From Rural Origins to Continental Banking Power
The institution’s current trajectory is anchored in a transformation that began 35 years ago, when Equity operated as a rural building society in central Kenya.
Since then, the lender has evolved into Kenya’s most profitable bank and one of Africa’s fastest-expanding financial groups. This transformation reflects a broader structural shift in African banking, where domestic institutions are increasingly becoming regional platforms.
📊 2. FY2025 Performance Underpins Expansion
Equity’s expansion push is strongly supported by its FY2025 financial results.
- Profit after tax: KSh 75.50 billion (~USD 582 million)
- Annual growth: 55%
- Regional subsidiaries contribution: 51% of total banking profit before tax
This performance highlights a structural shift in earnings away from Kenya toward regional subsidiaries.
In addition, the International Monetary Fund notes that African banks with diversified regional exposure tend to demonstrate stronger resilience during domestic economic cycles, particularly in volatile macroeconomic environments.
🌍 3. DRC Remains the Core Profit Engine
The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to play a central role in Equity’s regional strategy.
The lender is currently the second-largest bank in the country, following acquisitions completed in 2015 and 2020. These transactions helped establish a strong market position in one of Africa’s most underbanked but resource-rich economies.
As a result, the DRC has become Equity’s most important regional earnings hub outside Kenya.
FY2025 performance reflects this dominance:
- Profit: KSh 24.70 billion (~USD 190 million)
- Growth: 58% year-on-year
- Estimated market share: ~24%
Moreover, the World Bank continues to classify the DRC as a frontier financial market with significant long-term inclusion potential despite elevated operational risks.
🚢 4. Lobito Corridor: The Structural Growth Logic
Equity’s expansion strategy is increasingly aligned with the Lobito Corridor, a strategic infrastructure route supported by the United States.
This corridor connects:
- Angola (Atlantic export gateway)
- Zambia (copper belt and mineral transit hub)
- DRC (resource extraction base)
Consequently, banking expansion is no longer being driven by national boundaries but by trade flow systems.
Mwangi emphasized in the Reuters interview that expansion decisions are now guided by customers and trade routes rather than geography alone.
This reflects a broader trend identified by the International Finance Corporation, which highlights the growing importance of infrastructure-linked financial ecosystems in emerging markets.
🇦🇴 🇿🇲 🇲🇿 5. Southern Africa Expansion Targets
Equity is actively pursuing acquisition-led entry into three key Southern African markets.
📍 Angola
Angola represents the most advanced target market. The country serves as a strategic Atlantic export gateway for minerals and energy resources.
📍 Zambia
Zambia plays a critical connector role between the DRC and Mozambique, particularly in copper and mineral logistics.
📍 Mozambique
Mozambique provides access to Indian Ocean trade routes and is expected to become Equity’s sixth non-Kenyan subsidiary.
In addition, Mwangi confirmed ongoing high-level engagement with Mozambique’s leadership, reinforcing the strategic importance of the market.
⚖️ 6. Regulatory and Structural Constraints
Despite strong expansion momentum, regulatory differences across African markets continue to shape entry strategy.
Earlier efforts in Ethiopia were slowed by foreign ownership restrictions limiting stakes in local banks, prompting a strategic shift toward Southern Africa.
As a result, Equity has prioritized markets with clearer acquisition pathways and more flexible regulatory environments.
The Bank for International Settlements notes that regulatory fragmentation remains one of the most significant constraints on cross-border banking expansion in emerging economies.
📡 7. Acquisition-Led Growth Strategy
Unlike traditional expansion models, Equity is increasingly favouring acquisitions over greenfield entry.
This strategy is driven by three operational realities:
- Language and cultural differences in new markets
- High cost of establishing new banking infrastructure
- Need for immediate market scale and deposits
As Mwangi explained, acquiring established institutions allows Equity to scale faster while transforming existing operations into regional platforms.
🌍 8. Competitive Landscape Across Africa
Equity’s expansion is unfolding within a highly competitive African banking environment.
Key competitors include:
- Ecobank (pan-African network)
- UBA (United Bank for Africa)
- State-linked financial institutions
- Regional banks expanding cross-border
The World Bank highlights that Africa’s banking sector remains fragmented, with low credit penetration but increasing exposure to sovereign debt across multiple jurisdictions.
⚠️ 9. Risk Environment
While growth prospects remain strong, Equity’s expansion is exposed to structural risks.
These include:
- Currency volatility across Southern Africa
- Regulatory fragmentation between jurisdictions
- Commodity price sensitivity in mining economies
- Macroeconomic instability and political transitions
Nevertheless, the long-term opportunity remains anchored in Africa’s demographic growth, infrastructure investment, and commodity cycles.
🌐 Conclusion: A Shift to Corridor Banking
Equity Group’s Southern Africa expansion reflects a deeper transformation in African finance.
The banking model is evolving from:
- Country-based expansion
➡️ to - Corridor-based financial ecosystems
In this new structure, banks are increasingly aligning with trade routes, commodity flows, and infrastructure networks rather than national boundaries.
Ultimately, Equity is positioning itself not simply as a regional lender, but as a financial institution embedded within Africa’s evolving economic geography.
Commercial Banking
Inside the DRC Banking Rush: Who Is Entering First
Digital banking is enabling faster, lower-cost entry into fragmented financial environments.
Regional banks are racing into the DRC as Equity, KCB, CRDB and others compete for Africa’s fastest-growing banking frontier.
🧠 Inside the DRC Banking Rush: Who Is Entering First
Unlike earlier phases of African banking growth, which focused on domestic consolidation, the current cycle is defined by cross-border competition for underbanked populations and resource-driven economies.
According to the World Bank, the DRC remains one of the least financially included large economies in the world, with banking penetration still below 20% in many estimates. This structural gap is now attracting regional lenders seeking long-term growth.
At the same time, the International Monetary Fund has identified the country as a frontier economy where financial deepening could significantly accelerate formal economic activity.
👉 The result is a competitive entry race—where timing is now a strategic advantage.
🏦 1. The First Movers: East Africa’s Banking Giants
The earliest and most aggressive entrants into the DRC banking landscape include:
- Equity Group Holdings
- KCB Group
- CRDB Bank
- Bank of Kigali
These institutions are not simply opening branches—they are building regional banking ecosystems that integrate retail, SME, and trade finance services across borders.
For example, Equity Group Holdings has positioned the DRC as a strategic growth pillar within its pan-African model, reflecting a shift from national banking to continental banking platforms.
KCB Group has similarly expanded its regional footprint through subsidiaries and partnerships, leveraging cross-border integration to capture trade flows between East and Central Africa.
👉 These early movers are shaping the competitive structure of the market.
💰 2. Why Early Entry Matters
Early entrants typically benefit from:
- First access to corporate clients
- Stronger brand recognition
- Early deposit base accumulation
- Relationship dominance in SME lending
The International Finance Corporation has consistently emphasized that financial institutions entering underserved markets early tend to establish long-term structural advantages, particularly in environments with low competition density.
👉 In the DRC, being first often means shaping the rules of engagement.
📡 3. Digital First Entry: The New Banking Model
Unlike traditional banking expansion, entry into the DRC is increasingly driven by digital infrastructure rather than physical branches.
Banks are deploying:
- Mobile banking platforms
- Agent banking networks
- Integrated fintech partnerships
This approach reduces operational costs while expanding reach into rural and semi-urban populations.
Institutions such as Equity Group Holdings are leveraging digital ecosystems to scale rapidly across fragmented infrastructure environments.
This aligns with insights from the World Bank, which highlights digital financial services as a critical driver of inclusion in low-infrastructure economies.
👉 Digital entry is now the default expansion strategy.
⛏️ 4. Resource-Linked Banking: The Corporate Entry Layer
Beyond retail banking, corporate banking tied to the DRC’s resource sector is a major entry driver.
The country’s vast reserves of copper, cobalt, and gold create high-value financing opportunities for banks in:
- Trade finance
- Commodity-backed lending
- Mining sector project finance
The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly identified the DRC’s resource sector as a key macroeconomic stabiliser and long-term growth driver.
👉 This makes the DRC not just a retail banking opportunity—but a corporate finance frontier.
⚖️ 5. Competition Structure: A Regional Contest
The DRC banking market is now shaped by regional competition rather than isolated expansion.
Key competitive blocs include:
- Kenyan banking groups
- Tanzanian financial institutions
- Rwandan regional banks
Each is targeting overlapping segments:
- Retail deposits
- SME credit
- Trade finance corridors
At the same time, informal financial systems remain dominant in many regions, meaning formal banks must compete against deeply entrenched cash economies.
📉 6. Risk Environment: Why Entry Is Not Simple
Despite strong opportunity, the DRC remains structurally complex.
Key challenges include:
- Currency volatility and dollarisation
- Weak credit information systems
- Infrastructure gaps in financial services
- Regulatory fragmentation
The Bank for International Settlements notes that frontier markets with fragmented regulation and high volatility tend to experience amplified operational risk during rapid financial expansion cycles.
👉 This makes execution capacity as important as market entry.
🌍 7. The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters Regionally
The DRC banking rush is not an isolated event—it is part of a broader East and Central African financial integration process.
It connects directly to:
- Cross-border banking expansion
- Regional trade corridor financing
- Fintech-enabled financial inclusion
- Currency and liquidity interdependence
👉 The DRC is becoming the central node in regional banking integration.
🚀 Conclusion: A Market Defined by First Movers
The DRC banking rush is not about who enters eventually—it is about who establishes dominance early.
First movers are not just entering a market—they are shaping:
- Customer acquisition patterns
- Financial infrastructure
- Competitive pricing structures
- Regional capital flows
As the World Bank and International Monetary Fund both emphasize in different ways, financial deepening in frontier economies is a long-cycle transformation.
👉 In the DRC, that transformation is already underway—and the entry race has begun.
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