Kenyans in the U.S. dreaming of having a bank account in Kenya will have a powerful resource at their fingertips in the coming days as that country’s second largest bank kicked off its Diaspora Roadshow in Minnesota on Friday.
Prominent Kenyan American, Mr. Sam Ireri – a longtime Wells Fargo commercial banker until last year – is now director of diaspora banking at Equity. Ireri, who is making his first visit to his longtime home of Minnesota since relocating to Kenya to take the high-profile position, told Mshale the roadshow like in previous years is meant to showcase banking services that are tailored to the unique needs of the diaspora.
“Beyond opening a new bank account, we do have existing customers around the U.S. that we want to connect with and help them, for example if someone has let their account become inactive and they want to reactivate it,” Ireri said.
The bank has won global acclaim in democratizing banking by opening it up to the unbanked, and now enjoys the largest customer base in it industry which its founder and CEO James Mwangi told Harvard Business Review in a past interview, was due to the “resilience and determination of the employees.”
The 2024 “Bank Supervision Annual Report” by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) listed NCBA as second in market share in terms of customer deposits and also comes in second in terms of total assets. There were 38 commercial banks 14 microfinance banks operating in Kenya by the end of 2024, according to CBK.
Central Bank of Kenya figures show remittances from Kenyans in the diaspora were the leading foreign exchange earner last year totaling $4.94 billion in 2024, an 18% increase from 2023. 54% of the remittances last year were from North America, mostly the United States. Tea, the country’s leading export, brought in $1.35 billion in 2024.
In addition to its home base of Kenya, Equity Bank now operates in five other Arican countries (Demcoractic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Rwanda). The bank also has a commercial representative office in Ethiopia, with full operations expected to commence there once legislation allowing foreign banks to open subsidiaries there is implemented.
“We are also happy to discuss how our expansions into other markets might benefit those in the diaspora doing business across multiple African countries,” Ireri said. “We definitely want to make sure our new diaspora customers and existing ones are aware of the entire suite of services available to them.”
Ireri said diaspora customers can open a dollar or Kenya shilling account or both. One can also explore mortgage solutions the bank offers for property in Kenya.
What to bring to open your Equity Bank account
To open your account, you will need a Kenyan ID or U.S. Driver’s license, a passport size photo and KRA PIN. KRA is Kenya Revenue Authority. If you don’t have a KRA PIN, you can obtain one instantly at this KRA link (If your browser warns you it’s an unsafe link, Mshale tested it and it is safe).
The Equity team of Ms. Jane Nyaga and Messrs Jeff Gitahi and Sam Ireri are at the following address through Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 9am to 6pm:
Uplifted Care Services, 3340 Brookdale Dr N, Brooklyn Park, MN 55443.
After the stop in Minnesota, the team next heads to Arizona and Boston, before concluding in Marietta, Georgia on Nov. 7-13.
Oct 31 – Nov 4 DoubleTree by Hilton, 1011 West Holmes Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210
Nov 2 – 4 Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210
Nov 7 – 13 Sarah Brooks Law Firm LLC, 3417 Canton Rd, Marietta, GA 30066
Mr. Ireri’s team can be reached via WhatsApp while in the U.S. at the numbers provided in the flyer they shared below.
Author
About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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