Kenya’s banking sector more than doubled its MSME lending target in 2025, disbursing KES 326.5 billion in new loans to small and medium businesses against an annual target of KES 150 billion, a signal that lenders are increasingly viewing the MSME segment as a core growth frontier.
The data, published by the Kenya Bankers Association, ranks the top ten banks by MSME loan disbursements as of December 2025.
Equity dominated the Space by a wide margin
Equity Bank came in first with KES 90.727 billion, nearly 28% of the entire industry total and more than 1.6 times what the second-ranked lender disbursed. The gap between Equity and KCB, which came in second at KES 56.162 billion, is itself larger than what most banks on the list lent out in total.
Co-operative Bank ranked third at KES 37.686 billion, followed by Stanbic Bank at KES 32.684 billion and Family Bank at KES 31.973 billion, a notable showing for a mid-tier lender that has long positioned itself as an MSME-focused institution.
The mid-tier picture in MSMEs Lending
I&M Bank ranked sixth at KES 26.324 billion, well ahead of Kingdom Bank at KES 9.803 billion. Absa Kenya, National Bank, and Sidian Bank rounded out the top ten at KES 6.394 billion, KES 5.750 billion, and KES 5.472 billion, respectively.
The fact that the industry hit more than twice its KES 150 billion target is significant, though it remained unclear whether the target was set conservatively or whether a broader policy push and improved credit infrastructure drove the outperformance. Either way, KES 326.5 billion flowing into MSMEs in a single year is a material number for an economy where small businesses are the dominant employer.
Family Bank and Kingdom Bank’s presence in the top ten is also worth noting. Both institutions have historically leaned into the MSME and cooperative segments, and their rankings reflect that strategic positioning paying off in volume terms.
Read: Banks Pump KES 153 Billion into MSMEs, Exceeding Annual Target
