Chapter 6: Equity Bank: A High-Impact Entrepreneurial Turnaround Story

Originally founded in Kenya, Equity Bank is a success story: evolving from a humble beginning of providing basic services to lower- and middle-class customers, to a prime partner of and inspiration for entrepreneurs striving to make it big. The rise of Equity Bank is all the more impressive as it achieved a turnaround following the severe stress it suffered in the 1990s. Today, Kenya is the economic powerhouse in East and Central Africa, and Equity Bank has expanded beyond its borders. This case study examines the ways in which the bank is a strong partner for aspiring entrepreneurs and how it promotes financial inclusion. A certain entrepreneurial mindset and culture is a pre-condition for this kind of success, and we explore how the bank successfully uses an approach that centers on human (entrepreneurial) capabilities acquisition, development, utilization, and maintenance (ADUM model) to build this entrepreneurial mindset and culture.