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For the Kenyan long-distance runner, see James Mwangi Macharia. For other uses, see Mwangi.

James Mwangi
Mwangi in 2020
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Kangema, Muranga County, Kenya
NationalityKenyan
Alma materUniversity of Nairobi
Occupations
Years active1991 – present
EmployerEquity Group Holdings Plc
Known forTurning around Equity Bank from a loss making entity in 1993 and making it one of the largest banks in East and Central Africa with an asset base of USD 9  billion as at 2020.[1]
TitleGroup Managing Director and Group CEO, Equity Group Holdings
PartnerJane Njuguna[2]
Children3

James Mwangi (born 1962) CBS is a Kenyan accountant, career banker, businessman, and entrepreneur. He is the current Group Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Equity Group Holdings Plc, the banking conglomerate with one of the largest customer bases on the African continent, over 14 million as of December 2019.[3][4]

Mwangi was included among The Financial Times' 2009 list of the top 50 thought leaders of emerging markets and the top 20 most influential people in Africa.[5] He was the founding chairman of Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board from 2007-2019, charged with ensuring Kenya became a middle-income country with high living standards by 2030. He is a Presidential National Task Force member on the Kenya COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and chair of its health committee. Mwangi is also the current Chancellor, Meru University College of Science and Technology.[6]

Early life and education

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Mwangi was born in Kangema, in Kenya's Central Province, circa 1962. Mwangi alongside his six siblings were raised by their widowed mother, Grace Wairimu. He witnessed the struggles in his family and community at an early age to make a livelihood, which inspired him to better his circumstances. Mwangi credits his mother for instilling the virtues of discipline, hard work, giving back to society, and humility from a tender age.[7]

He attended Nyagatugu Primary School in Kangema Village, going on to attend Ichagaki Secondary School on a government scholarship. He attended Kagumo High School for his A-level education, where he studied economics, English literature, and geography. He joined the University of Nairobi, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, after which he sat and passed the Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPAK) examinations.[8] He is also a graduate of the advanced management programme at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.[9]

Mwangi holds five honorary doctorate degrees, a Doctor of Business Administration from Kenya Methodist University, Doctor of Humane Letters from Kenyatta University, and Doctor of Entrepreneurship from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.[10] He also has a Doctor of Business Management (Honours Causa) from Meru University of Science and Technology[11][12] and a Doctorate of Letters from Africa Nazarene University.

Career

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Mwangi began his career in banking as an auditor at Price Water House. After a short period at Price Water House, he moved over to Ernst and Young, where he worked for three years before joining Trade Bank. In 1991, he left his job as the group's financial controller at Trade Bank [13] on invitation by the then-senior executives of Equity Building Society (EBS), the precursor to Equity Bank, to steer the financial institution from insolvency. Mwangi joined Equity Building Society as the Finance and Operations Director, a position he held until 2004 when he became the CEO.[14] Together with the then managing director, John Mwangi, and the chairman, Peter Munga, they constituted the board. Mwangi converted his KSh.7 million/= deposit at the time with Equity Building Society to ordinary shares, making him one of the key shareholders.[13] The company was losing KSh.5 million/= (approx. US$60,000 at the time) annually and, at that time, had accumulated total losses of KSh.33 million/= (approx. US$380,000 at the time). Equity had been declared insolvent at position 66 out of 66 by its regulator, the Central Bank of Kenya, in 1993.[15][16] Mwangi was appointed Director of Strategy and Finance and set about retraining staff focusing on customer care. He also encouraged them to use their networks to attract members to the society and use 25% of their salaries to buy Equity Building Society shares. In 1997, the society began to sell shares to customers and pay annual dividends.[17]

In 2006, Equity Bank listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). On 18 June 2009, the group's stock cross-listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange and the Rwanda Stock Exchange in 2015.[18][19] As of December 2019, the group had subsidiaries in six countries and a commercial representative office in Ethiopia.[20] Equity Group Holdings is a large financial services organisation in East Africa in terms of customer base and has an asset base valued at over KSh.900 billion/= (approx. US$9 billion).[21]

In 2020, Equity Bank was granted approval to merge two subsidiaries (Equity Bank Congo (EBC) and Banque Commercial du Congo (BCDC)) in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC). The two subsidiaries formed a new bank by the name Equity Banque Commercial du Congo (Equity BCDC) which made it the second largest bank in DRC.[22]

He also serves as a guest lecturer at Stanford University, Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, IESE Business School, and Lagos Business School.[9]

Mwangi has also served on boards and in advisory roles at the Global Advisory Council for VISA Inc.,[23] the Global Advisory Council for MasterCard, the Clinton Global Initiative, the G8 New Alliance For Food Security And Nutrition, President Barack Obama’s Initiative for Global Development, the G20 Advisory Board of Agriculture and Initiative for Global Development, and The Global Agenda Council on New Economic Thinking of the World Economic Forum.[24]

He has also served on the UN Advisory Groups on Inclusive Finance and Global Sustainability. He also served as an external advisor on a high-level panel on inclusive finance to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, he is on the Economic Advisory Board to the president of IFC (International Finance Corporation), the Advisory Network to the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, the Nairobi Advisory Board of Columbia Global Centres,[25] Yale University President’s Council on International Activities, the Inaugural Board of African Leadership Academy and has been chair of the steering committee of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Center, East Africa. He is a member of UNDP’s (United Nations Development Program) African Influencers for Development (AI4Dev), private sector AfroChampions initiative, and a board member of Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGC/A).[26]

Mwangi served on the technical team that formulated Kenya’s Vision 2030 from 2003 to 2007 and became the Vision 2030 Delivery Board chair from 2007 to 2019. During this period, Kenya’s GDP rose tenfold from US$10 billion to US$100 billion.[27]

In September 2020, it was alleged Mwangi was taken to court for land grabbing of property of a private company in Muthaiga. According to the allegations, Mwangi used police to evict personnel of a private company Mount Pleasant and installed his security personnel.[28]

Personal life

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Mwangi is married and has three sons.[29] Together with his wife they own shares in the stock of Equity Group Holdings and Britam Holdings.[30]

Mwangi is the executive chairman of Equity Group Foundation (EGF), which he founded in 2008.[31][32][9]

Wings to Fly

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In 2010, under Mwangi's leadership, Equity Bank launched the Wings to Fly initiative, which provides scholarships to needy students in Kenya. Since its inception, a total of 26,304 students have benefited from the program, with 633 having joined leading global learning institutions.[33]

His family’s notable contributions include US$4 million in donations to support the COVID-19 Response in Kenya, Rwanda, and DRC.[34] US$1 million to set up a business incubation center at Meru University of Science and Technology,[35][36] US$500,000 to his local village school, Nyagatugu Secondary School, and US$300,000 each to both the African Leadership Academy, South Africa and Church House in Uganda.

Awards and honors

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Mwangi pictured in 2007
Global
Regional
  • Think Business Banking Awards- CEO of the Year: 2019 and 2020,
  • African CEO of the Year- African Business Leadership Awards 2020
  • Banker Africa (East Africa), Banker of the Year: 2017, 2018
  • African Business Leader of the Year - The Africa Investor Awards, 2013
  • Innovation Leader of the Year- The Africa Investor Awards, 2012
  • African Leader of the Year- African Leadership Network 2012
  • All Africa Business Leader Award- ABN & CNBC Africa 2012
  • Forbes Africa Person of the Year: 2012[42]
  • Ernst & Young Africa Entrepreneur of the Year award Master Category 2011
  • African Banker Awards, African Banker of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2018[43]
  • CEO of the Year - The Africa Investor Awards, 2009[44] and 2015[45]
  • Africa Investor Awards, CEO of the Year: 2009,[46] 2015
National Honours

Source: Equity Group Holdings[50]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "James Mwangi: A Life Stranger Than Fiction". African Business Magazine. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Ten least known Kenyan women billionaires". People Daily. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  3. ^ Kwama, Kenneth (4 December 2013). "Success Story of Equity Bank CEO, James Mwangi". The Standard. Nairobi. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Equity Bank of Kenya: Our History". Equity Bank of Kenya. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  5. ^ "50 emerging market business leaders". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  6. ^ (http://www.hydrant.co.uk), Site designed and built by Hydrant (19 November 2014). "OBG talks to James Mwangi, Chairman, Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board". Oxford Business Group. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  7. ^ "James Mwangi: A Life Stranger Than Fiction". African Business Magazine. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  8. ^ Rix, Craig (24 July 2012). "The Education History of James Mwangi". KenyaYetu.net. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  9. ^ a b c "Dr. James Mwangi". Columbia Global Centers. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Dr. James Mwangi | School of Business". University of Nairobi. Retrieved 26 May 2019.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Meru University of Science and Technology confers Equity Boss with his fifth Honorary Doctorate degree - Kenya Engineer". www.kenyaengineer.co.ke. September 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  12. ^ "chancellor". Meru University of Science and Technology. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  13. ^ a b Chris, Ogbechie (2009). "The Transformation of Equity Bank". Lagos Business School. Retrieved 9 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ John, Ratichek (2011). "Equity Bank and the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) in Kenya" (PDF). FSD Kenya. Retrieved 9 September 2020.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ Coetzee, Gerhard; Mnjama, Andrew; Kabbucho, Kamau. "Understanding the Re-birth of Equity Building Society in Kenya" (PDF). Microsave.net. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  16. ^ Omar, Sigomba Ramadhan. "Peaks and valleys of Equity's 35 years expedition". The Standard. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  17. ^ "The career profile of Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi". Bizna Kenya. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  18. ^ Reporter, Standard. "Equity Group lists on Rwanda Stock Exchange". The Standard. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Equity Bank Cross-Lists on USE". New Vision. 21 June 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  20. ^ Kangethe, Kennedy (17 April 2014). "Equity in 20pc Profit Rise To Sh3.8bn". Capital Business. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  21. ^ "Investor Relations". Equity Group Holdings. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  22. ^ "Equity gets approval to merge DRC subsidiaries into new bank branches". The East African. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  23. ^ Njugunah, Margaret (12 March 2018). "Equity Group Chief Executive joins IFC Economic Advisory Board". Capital Business. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Equity Group CEO appointed to the Columbia Global Centers - The Exchange Equity Group CEO appointed to the Columbia Global Centers". The Exchange. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Nairobi Advisory Board". Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  26. ^ "SDG Center for Africa Governance". Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  27. ^ "Annual GDP CBK". www.centralbank.go.ke. Central Bank of Kenya. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi Accused Of Grabbing Land In Muthaiga". KahawaTungu. 14 September 2020.
  29. ^ "James Mwangi: A Life Stranger Than Fiction". African Business. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  30. ^ Juma, Victor (20 October 2014). "Mwangi family's fortune in Equity tops Sh12bn". Business Daily Africa. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  31. ^ "Equity Bank's Group Managing Director & CEO Dr. James Mwangi, talks philanthropy during Covid-19 at Africa.com Webinar". Africa.com. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  32. ^ "Equity Group Foundation (EGF)". Devex. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  33. ^ Wanzala, Ouma (11 December 2015). "Equity Bank's Wings to Fly scholarship targets 30,000 students". Daily Nation. Retrieved 27 August 2020.[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ Njugunah, Margaret (30 April 2020). "James Mwangi, Family Donate Sh300mn To Fight COVID-19 In Kenya". Capital Business. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  35. ^ "IIEC- Meru University of Science and Technology Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship Centre". Meru University of Science and Technology. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  36. ^ "Equity CEO James Mwangi sets record with Sh300m donation to Covid-19 fund". K24 TV. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  37. ^ "Equity's James Mwangi wins 2020 Oslo Business for Peace Award". The Standard. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  38. ^ "Equity's Mwangi feted for financial inclusion effort". Business Daily. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  39. ^ Mutai, Anthony (10 December 2019). "Equity Group's Dr. James Mwangi Honored in the 2019 Bloomberg 50". Horticultural News. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  40. ^ "James Mwangi of Equity honored in the 2019 Bloomberg 50". Capital Business. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  41. ^ "James Mwangi". www.ey.com. Ernst & Young Global Limited. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  42. ^ Mulunda, Luke (14 April 2016). "James Mwangi, Equity Bank CEO, is Forbes Africa Person of the Year for 2012". Business Today. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  43. ^ "African Banker Awards". African Banker Awards. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  44. ^ "Best of African Capital Markets: 2009 Africa investor Index Series Awards Winners | African Capital Markets News". Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  45. ^ "Africa: Dr. James Mwangi Scoops CEO of the Year Award At the Africa Investor Summit". Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  46. ^ Ndonga, Elsie (24 May 2018). "Equity CEO Dr. James Mwangi Wins The Banker of the Year in the African Banker Awards. Check Out His Other Achievements". Potentash. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  47. ^ "THE KENYA GAZETTE Published by Authority of the Republic of Kenya" (PDF). Government of Kenya. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  48. ^ "Award of orders, decorations and medals on Jamhuri Day, 12th December 2006" (PDF). The Kenya Gazette. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  49. ^ Kihiu, Njoki (1 June 2020). "Health DG Amoth among 68 Kenyans conferred Presidential Order of Service Award " Capital News". Capital News. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  50. ^ "About Equity". Equity Group Holdings. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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