Egypt lender donates Sh10m to Kenya’s Covid-19 kitty

Egypt’s largest private lender, Commercial International Bank (CIB), has donated Sh10.64 million ($100,000) to aid in the fight against the spread and impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Kenya.

The lender, which has bought a majority stake in the Kenyan tier three Mayfair Bank, said the funds will be channeled through the private sector-led Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund set up by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“The task of fighting this pandemic is huge and no single entity can do it alone. My hope is that this contribution will assist the government as it works with the medical services and frontline staff to save lives in Kenya,” said CIB chairman and managing director Hisham Ezz Al-Arab in statement on Wednesday.

The donation adds to lenders’ contributions to the Covid-19 kitty. Equity Bank #ticker:EQTY injected Sh300 million, KCB #ticker:KCB Sh150 million, Co-operative #ticker:CO-OP and NCBA #ticker:NCBA each giving Sh100 million, and Absa has contributed Sh50 million.

Other banks including Ecobank and UBA Kenya have also contributed Sh10 million and Sh15 million respectively.

CIB , which is the leading private-sector bank in Egypt, with a total asset base of approximately Sh2.45 trillion ($24.18 billion) will operate in the Kenyan market under the name Mayfair CIB Bank Limited.

Kenya had 3,860 confirmed cases by Wednesday as 133 more people tested positive.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe also announced 40 recoveries and the death of another Covid-19 patient, bringing total discharged persons and fatalities to 1,326 and 105, respectively.