Equity boss roots for African businesses as top US varsity visits

Despite market competition and challenges, Africa has immense business potential and opportunities, with climate change affecting agriculture-dependent economies. 

Equity Group Chief Executive James Mwangi while highlighting business opportunities in Africa, cites the continent’s burgeoning youthful population as a major advantage.

Speaking at a knowledge exchange session with 30 MBA students (Class of 2025-2026) from Columbia Business School at the Equity Centre in Nairobi, he said bad politics, inflation, and volatility in exchange rates, however, pose major risks to companies.

The session focused on Equity Group’s business model and the role of the Equity Group Foundation in enabling business growth and expansion across East Africa. 

“You can have a successful business in Africa with global investment and shareholding,” said Mr Mwangi, citing Equity Group’s own business model and shareholder structure.

He explained Equity’s holistic tri-engine model, which integrates economic, nature, and environmental aspects to drive a sustainable business approach. 

“One of our strategies was first demystifying banking by taking the services to the villages with Land Rovers and also incorporating agency banking in our operations. This is where we used shopkeepers in rural areas to deliver some of our basic banking services. We empowered them with banking apps and mobile phones, as well as POS (Point of Sale). We also went digital,” said  Mr Mwangi, explaining how Equity at some point used to hawk banking services, as happens with daily household items like salt.

The MBA students from Columbia Business School came from diverse study areas, including finance and investment, venture capital and entrepreneurship, technology, media and consulting, and social impact and sustainability. 

“For our students to be global leaders, we always endeavour to take them across the world to meet and learn from thought leaders,” said Stephan Meier, the James P Gorman professor of business strategy and the chair of the management division at Columbia Business School.