The International Trade Centre (ITC) and Equity Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support inclusive and commercially sustainable economic growth across East Africa, starting with Kenya. The partnership will focus on the leather, coffee and creative industries with plans to scale its impact across the region.
The agreement combines ITC’s trade development expertise with Equity Group’s financial network and its Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan (ARRP), a 6 pillar strategy covering food and agriculture, manufacturing, MSMEs, technology and social impact investments.
Equity Group currently operates banking subsidiaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.
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“We know that access to finance is critical for small businesses but it has to be matched with the right skills to use it effectively. That’s why we’re partnering with Equity Bank to ensure small businesses across East Africa can tap both financing and trade expertise to move up the value chain and compete in global markets, from leather to the creative industries.”
– Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, ITC
Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr James Mwangi said the partnership will help African entrepreneurs and MSMEs access finance, trade intelligence and market opportunities to accelerate regional trade and industrial growth.
“By combining access to finance, trade intelligence, capacity building and market linkages, we are building an ecosystem that enables MSMEs in coffee, leather and the creative economy to scale sustainably and compete globally.”
– Dr James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO, Equity Group Holdings
The partnership will begin with a pilot phase in Kenya until December 2026 and expand to other East African markets from 2027.
For the leather sector, the partnership will support the midterm review of the EAC Leather and Leather Products Strategy 2020-2030.
Activities will include footwear design coaching for MSMEs, harmonising standards across EAC Partner States and expanding e-commerce access through platforms such as Etsy, eBay and Shopify.
Across all three sectors, Equity Group and participating businesses will gain access to ITC’s trade market intelligence tools and the SME Trade Academy online learning platform.
