I&M to double Kenya branches to 100 in three years

I&M Group plans to double its physical branches in Kenya to 100 by the end of 2026 in the race to increase its share of the retail banking business.

The expansion is part of the lender’s three-year strategy dubbed iMara 3.0 which will run until the end of 2026.

Achieving 100 branches from the current 50 will mean opening at least 17 each year.

I&M Bank Kenya CEO Gul Khan said in an interview that doubling the physical branches would boost growth in retail banking.

“A big part of our strategy is to scale up our retail business. Historically, I&M Bank has been a fantastic corporate and SME [small and medium-sized enterprises] bank. Part of our strategy is to build up retail banking. To do that, we are trying hard to become globally relevant for Kenyan consumers,” said Mr Khan.

The bank expects to grow its Kenya business through a mix of physical branches and digital platforms.

“We want to get to one million customers in the next few years and there are a lot of pockets we see in Kenya with a strong retail activity, especially for MSMEs [micro, small and medium-sized enterprises] and we will be filling those pockets.”

I&M Bank mid-January this year opened eight new branches in Kenya and plans to add 12 before the end of the year, firming up its ambition of hitting 100.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed lender’s new outlets have been spread out on the Coast (Diani, Watamu, Kilifi), Nairobi (Eastleigh, Gikomba, and Saifee Park in Langata), and one each in Naivasha and Tatu City in Kiambu.

“We realised that our branch network is small. A lot of our customers are asking us why we are not in this or that location. That has been driving us into expansion and doing research in identifying locations we think we should be,” said Mr Khan.

Part of the ways I&M has been growing its retail appeal is by permanently waiving fees on transactions from the bank to mobile money wallets including M-Pesa or Airtel Money.

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