By Hyline Ocharo
Equity Group Holdings has signed three key partnership agreements to strengthen small businesses, agriculture, trade and climate resilience during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi.
Strategic partnerships took centre stage at the Africa Forward Summit as leaders across finance, trade and infrastructure came together around a shared vision of accelerating enterprise growth, strengthening food systems and driving regional industrialisation across Africa.
The engagements reflected a growing commitment to connecting capital, innovation, markets and opportunities that empower communities while building resilient and globally competitive African economies.
The agreements were concluded on the sidelines of the high‑level Africa‑France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth Summit, attended by President William Ruto and France’s Emmanuel Macron, among other leaders from multiple countries.
The gathering brought together governments, investors and business leaders to deepen economic cooperation between Africa and France.
One of the flagship partnerships involves Proparco and is expected to unlock more financing for small and medium enterprises, agriculture and climate‑related projects across Africa.
The deal also includes a US$70 million syndicated facility for EquityBCDC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with part of the funding earmarked for women‑led enterprises under the 2X Challenge initiative.
During one of the key signings, Dr James Mwangi, Group CEO of Equity Group, and Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco, reaffirmed the long‑standing relationship between the two institutions through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on fostering a responsible and sustainable private sector across the continent.
The renewed partnership reflects a shared ambition to continue supporting high‑impact projects that expand access to finance, strengthen enterprises and create inclusive economic growth across Africa.
In another strategic collaboration, Dr Mwangi signed an MoU with Bertrand Ambroise, International Director at Semmaris, and George Olaka, Arise IIP Country Head and CEO, aimed at supporting the development of regional agro‑logistics and food infrastructure in Kenya.
The partnership seeks to strengthen food security, enhance horticultural value chains, improve cold‑chain logistics, modernise wholesale market systems and expand export connectivity to both regional and international markets.
Speaking at the summit, Mwangi said the partnerships are designed to connect financing to productive sectors of the economy while supporting enterprise growth, job creation and sustainable development across the continent.
Additional agreements facilitated by Equity Group will support the development of agricultural logistics infrastructure, cold‑chain systems and export connectivity.
Another partnership with CIRAD will focus on climate‑smart agriculture, improving farmer productivity and transforming food systems across Africa.