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Prof. Victor Murinde, Executive Director, AERC, led a team that paid a courtesy call to the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) at their head office in Nairobi, Kenya. The AERC team was received by Mr. Raimond Molenje, Ag. Chief Executive Officer, KBA. This was one of a series of visits the AERC executive director is making to familiarize himself with some of the AERC’s partner institutions across Africa. The KBA is one of the African Economic Research Consortium’s (AERC) partners.

During this visit, Prof. Murinde noted that AERC and KBA have had a fruitful and warm relationship over the years. He went ahead to add that given the fact that AERC is a premier capacity building institution in the advancement of research and training to inform economic policies in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a lot that the two organizations can do together. “The AERC is one of the most active Research and Capacity Building Institutions (RCBIs) in the world, with a focus on Africa,” he said.

“Commercial Banks have training needs, and thus AERC can partner with KBA to do a step change to break a new ground in this kind of collaboration by customizing training needs for the African market, particularly on green finance,” said Prof. Murinde, adding that Kenya is one of the pan African centers putting the two institutions, which are both in the country at a great regional focus for such a co-operation; others  pan African centers include are Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. 

Prof. Murinde gave a short brief on the forthcoming AERC Biannual Research Workshop, and proposed to KBA that it would be possible to host a side event during this major workshop and pull in Nobel prize winner to give a paper.  Each of these AERC’s biannual research workshops attracts (physically or online) more than 500 researchers, academics, policy makers and other economists who participate in the research programme. 

“The Biannual Research workshops provide a forum in which the participants can meet each other within a worldwide network of professionals, and deal with issues relevant to Africa’s economic development. They also provide an opportunity for monitoring the progress and quality of the various research projects sponsored by AERC, thereby fulfilling one of its major mandates – to strengthen local capacity for conducting independent, rigorous inquiry into problems facing the management of economies in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Prof. Murinde.

On his part, Mr. Raimond Molenje noted that the journey that AERC and KBA have walked together harmoniously over the years has produced excellent results. “The two institutions can henceforth do certainly more to cement this relationship. We are keen to continue partnering with valuable organizations like AERC and will develop work streams for such endeavors. We as well recognize the support we have got from AERC and are ready to do more together in terms of policy dissemination and workshops,” he said. 

Mr. Molenje said that the  KBA brings all commercial banks in Kenya together. He added that it is an industry association that was established in 1962, by the Registrar of Trade Unions. Initially, the association’s primary objective was to represent member banks in negotiating the terms and conditions of their unionized employees, however, it has since morphed to embrace other activities. 

The KBA is also engaged in standardization of management practices across the industry to ensure harmony. The Kenya Bankers Association is the umbrella organization representing 46 licensed and regulated financial institutions by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). The KBA’s mission is to promote a reliable and professional banking sector that provides the best financial services to Kenyans who entrust their hard-earned resources with the member banks.

“Over time, the Kenya Bankers Association’s ambition has expanded to include promoting industry development and economic growth by engaging with the government and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the sector regulator. This ambition was further strengthened when the association unveiled its new brand and ambition statement: One Industry. Transforming Kenya,” said Mr. Molenje.

Mr. Molenje observed that the Kenya Bankers Association has revised its mandate to strengthen the banking industry’s role as a critical driver of economic growth. The new mandate includes lobbying and advocacy efforts and promoting industry development as well as innovation through collaboration with members and stakeholders on strategic initiatives.