NCBA Group PLC
Bold Business Strategy and Sustained Growth
Registered on the Nairobi Securities Exchange as NCBA Group PLC, the entity trades as NCBA within the Banking sector. The Group recorded notable growth in the 2024 financial year, achieving a profit after tax of Ksh 21.9 billion, an increase from Ksh 21.5 billion in 2023. In the same period under review, NCBA disbursed Ksh 1 trillion in digital loans. This growth was fuelled by a diversified business model, which saw strong performance in both non-banking and digital banking subsidiaries.
NCBA continues to emphasize on financial inclusion, serving over 60 million customers across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, with Ksh 502 billion in customer deposits. The bank declared a final dividend of Ksh 3.25 per share, bringing the total dividend for Financial Year (FY) 2024 to Ksh 5.50 per share.
This strong performance has earned the institution over 40 prestigious awards, including: Top 10 Most Valuable Kenyan Brands by Brand Finance, the Best Bank in Customer Experience by the African Bank Awards, the 2024 Overall Winner in the Financial Reporting (FiRe) Awards and the SME Financier of the Year – Africa by the International Finance Corporation.
Despite a 10 per cent increase in costs, primarily directed toward digital transformation, network expansion, and operational efficiency, NCBA’s regional subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda posted a combined profitability of Ksh 3.2 billion, reflecting a 7 per cent year-on-year increase. Additionally, the Group’s non-banking subsidiaries (investment banking, bancassurance, leasing, and insurance) achieved a remarkable 36 per cent growth, contributing Ksh 1.2 billion to overall Group profitability.
The financial institution through its smart network roll-out enabled customer access to superior services. NCBA Group currently operates 119 branches across the region, with 10 new locations in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. In Kenya, a partnership with Postbank enabled the onboarding of 476 agents and 96 branches under its agency banking model. The diaspora banking team has also strengthened NCBA’s global footprint, expanding its reach to customers in Australia, the Middle East, and the USA.
NCBA retained its leadership in asset finance by commanding a 35 per cent market share. This is sustained by product innovation and partnerships with key vehicle dealers such as Isuzu East Africa, CFAO Mobility, Simba Corporation, and Inchcape.
Its corporate banking segment, backed by a deposit base of Ksh 210 billion, is set to strengthen further with an enhanced internet banking platform.
On the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy framework, NCBA Group PLC is the first bank in Africa to launch its Sustainable Development Impact Disclosure Report, a new approach to sustainability reporting under the Impact Disclosure Guidance released late last year.
In 2014, NCBA earned recognition as an employer of choice. The Group’s Go Getter Internship Program onboarded over 80 young professionals, while its 51:49 gender balance (male/female) underscores its commitment to employment diversity.
The NCBA also mobilised Ksh 6.5 billion in green financing, supported 6,000 women and youth through scholarships, mentorship, and business skills development and established six electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
With a solid foundation and a forward-looking strategy, NCBA financial services brand is well-positioned to sustain its growth trajectory in the years to come, emerging as a paragon of resilience, innovation, and sustainable growth. As one of the top-performing companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), NCBA’s 2024 financial performance underscores its strategic acumen and unwavering commitment to stakeholder value. The 2024 final figures underpin NCBA’s robust financial performance amidst economic exceptionally strong headwinds.
NCBA Group PLC’s strategic diversification and regional expansion remains instrumental in its sustained growth. The Kenyan banking operations accounted for slight over 83% of the Group’s profit before tax, while regional subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda contributed a combined 13% of the Group’s profit before tax (PBT). Non-banking subsidiaries, including NCBA Investment Bank, Bancassurance, and NCBA Insurance, contributed the remaining 4%.
The Group’s full acquisition of AIG Kenya, rebranded to trade under the NCBA-IG brand, further solidified its position in the financial services sector, allowing it to tap into the over KES 309 billion insurance industry and offer comprehensive financial solutions under one roof.
At the helm of NCBA’s remarkable journey is Group Managing Director and CEO, John Gachora. Under his visionary leadership, the Group and all their stakeholders ‘Go For It’ by navigating economic uncertainties with strategic foresight and operational excellence. Gachora’s emphasis on building resilience through deliberately well thought out people recruitment and development, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), digital transformation, human and customer-centricity, all geared to ensuring sustainable growth, has been pivotal in steering NCBA to its current enviable stature. According to his enviable profile on LinkedIn, Gachora is passionate about people and unleashing the potential they have to be great, as he is driven by self improvement, integrity, hard work and an ability to absorb. Looking in retrospect at the merger that founded NCBA and lately, the acquisition of AIG to create NCBA-IG brand, Gachora, as he often states, differentiates himself by starting with the end in mind placed against a strong belief that he can model anything: This, he has done twice in only five years.
Looking ahead, NCBA Group remains optimistic as it continues to strengthen financial services within its customer base through five strategic pillars: fostering a customer-obsession culture, being the primary partner for SME and retail customers, reclaiming corporate leadership by revenue, embedding digital at the core, and cultivating a culture of consistent execution excellence, as it continues to chart into new territories in the financial services sector.
