I&M Holdings Plc, the monetary providers group based by Kenyan businessman Suresh Bhagwanji Shah, has elevated its stake in I&M Financial institution Tanzania to 95 p.c, tightening its grip on one in all its fastest-growing subsidiaries because it presses forward with growth throughout East Africa.
I&M beneficial properties larger Tanzania management
The Nairobi-listed lender acquired a further 15 p.c holding within the Tanzanian unit after two long-standing personal fairness traders exited on the finish of an funding cycle that lasted shut to fifteen years. The sellers have been Kibo Capital Companions and France’s improvement finance establishment Proparco, based on folks conversant in the transaction. The deal was accomplished in December 2025, with the remaining shares held by particular person personal traders.
The transfer provides I&M larger management over its Tanzanian enterprise at a time when regional banks are looking for scale to handle rising prices, harder regulation and rising competitors from digital lenders. Tanzania stays one in all I&M’s core markets, alongside Kenya and Rwanda, with Mauritius serving as a joint-venture outpost.
I&M brings banking to neglected cities
Based in 1974, I&M Holdings Plc sits atop a banking group that has steadily constructed a footprint throughout East Africa. Shah, who’s extensively credited with shaping the lender into a number one mid-tier regional financial institution, owns 10.98 p.c of the group, equal to about 178.5 million shares. He additionally controls MTZ Holdings, a personal funding automobile that just lately acquired Nairobi Enterprise Park, a distinguished business property within the Kenyan capital.
The elevated possession in Tanzania comes as I&M Financial institution continues so as to add branches in key places thus specializing in counties and cities which have historically been neglected by bigger lenders. In July, the bank opened a new outlet in Kirinyaga County, an agriculturally productive area close to Mount Kenya that’s house to hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises.
That department follows I&M’s container-branch mannequin, which makes use of solar energy and modular development to decrease prices and pace up deployment. The method is a part of the financial institution’s iMara 3.0 technique, which targets on a regular basis prospects and small companies with less complicated merchandise and quicker service. I&M plans to develop its Kenyan community to 100 branches by the tip of 2026.
I&M deepens Tanzania dedication
Past retail banking, the group has additionally been investing in bodily belongings to drive its regional presence. In Tanzania, Shah oversaw the purchase of a landmark commercial building in Dar es Salaam for $18.55 million, equal to Ksh2.4 billion or roughly 47 billion Tanzanian shillings.
The property, branded I&M Home@1046, will function the group’s headquarters in Tanzania and host one in all its flagship branches. Positioned within the metropolis’s central enterprise district, the constructing displays I&M’s long-term dedication to Tanzania, a market the group views as important to its East African progress plans because it deepens ties with companies and households throughout the area.
