President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday, June 7, officially opened the regional headquarters of the Trade and Development Bank in Nairobi's upmarket, Kilimani estate.
The 20-storey building will serve as the Eastern Africa regional headquarters as well as the regional operations hub of the financial institution estimated to be worth Ksh935 billion.
Speaking during the launch, Uhuru noted that Kenya was among the founding members of the bank noting that the country had benefited from the bank through loans.
In particular, the Head of State revealed that the financial institution played a critical role in the expansion of operations of Mombasa port.
“This coming close on the heels of other awards by international financial rating agencies confirms that this African bank is growing not just in terms of its capital base but also in terms of the quality of its services.
“We, in Kenya, appreciate the bank’s support to Kenya Airways for the expansion of its fleet and the support to the Kenya Ports Authority for the port modernisation programme. This support has been crucial in enabling us to expand logistics support to the neighbouring countries, in particular, those that do not have access to the sea,” he stated.
Uhuru further noted that the opening of the headquarters was strategic further urging the bank to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
He explained that the business enterprises would help improve the country's economy if they were supported through financial backing.
The President added that the country would also increase its shareholding in the regional bank through various investments.
On his part, Group Managing Director, Admau Tadesse, stated that Kenya had been pivotal to the growth of the bank assuring that they would help support the government's programs such as the Big Four agenda.
"We are very proud that over the years we have accompanied the Government of Kenya and its private sector in the development of various key economic sectors in the country through our project corporate and trade financing windows.
“This is in line with Kenya's development aspirations and plans, and certainly the Big Four Agenda, and very much in line with Vision 2030,” he stated.
