Mauritius’ real estate developer Grit Real Estate Income Group nearly doubled its borrowings from Kenyan banks to $94.9 million (Sh12.3 billion) in the year to June 2025, to fund its projects in the local market where it is expanding.
The dollar-denominated borrowings rose from $48.7 million (Sh6.3 billion) a year earlier, with Absa Bank Kenya, NCBA Bank Kenya and Stanbic Bank Kenya emerging as its top lenders in Kenya.
The multinational also has substantial borrowings in other markets to fund its capital-intensive construction and acquisition of commercial properties.
Grit has disclosed that a $35 million (Sh4.5 billion) loan from Absa helped to develop Nairobi’s Rosslyn Grove Diplomatic Apartment and Townhouse Complex that is leased to the American embassy.
“Absa Bank originally provided the $35 million loan to finance the development of the Rosslyn Grove … diplomatic housing complex in Nairobi, Kenya,” Grit said in a written response to the Business Daily.
“The loan was part of a broader financing package to support the project, which primarily serves the US embassy in Nairobi.”
The Absa loan has been disclosed after Grit took control of diplomatic housing in multiple countries which it had co-developed with Verdant Ventures.
The 90-unit gated estate in Nairobi comprising apartments and townhouses was completed in 2022 at a cost of $48.5 million (Sh5.52 billion using the exchange rates at the time).
The American government signed an eight-year lease on the property, with the first year’s rent set at $4.724 million (Sh534 million at the time).
Stanbic saw its loans to Gateway CCI Limited, a subsidiary of Grit which developed a call centre in Tatu City, rise to $25.6 million (Sh3.3 billion) in the year to June 2025 from $13.9 million (Sh1.8 billion) a year earlier.
The funds were used to construct the property dubbed Eneo at Tatu Central which is leased to Call Centre International (CCI) Global, a major business process outsourcing firm.
NCBA’s loans to Grit Services Limited, another subsidiary of the real estate developer, declined to $30.4 million (Sh3.93 billion) from $30.5 million (Sh3.94 billion).
NCBA was one of the earliest financiers of the multinational’s projects in Kenya and has issued a series of loans to the subsidiary.
In the review period, Housing Finance Corporation had an outstanding loan of $3.8 million (Sh502 million) to Buffalo Mall Naivasha Limited which is owned by Grit.
The loan balance had declined from $4.1 million (Sh534 million) a year earlier.
Major borrowers like Grit are attractive to banks keen on disbursing large, hard currency loans.
The multinational’s borrowings show that Pan African banks have an advantage in terms of serving major clients across multiple markets, teaming up with their subsidiaries to structure loans for related entities.
South Africa’s Standard Bank, which owns Stanbic Bank Kenya, is the single largest financier of Grit on a consolidated basis. The bank and its subsidiaries have lent to Grit entities in South Africa, Ghana and Uganda among other markets.
South Africa’s Absa Group, the parent firm of Absa Bank Kenya, has a similar lending structure with Grit that had borrowed a total of $540.6 million (Sh70 billion) as of June.
