Afro News continues its exclusive interview with Tirus Mwithiga, CEO and Managing Director of CIB Kenya, with the second part focusing on the expanding role of African banks in driving economic integration, financing infrastructure and energy projects, and strengthening cross-border trade and investment.
Mwithiga said regional banks can serve as key catalysts for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by connecting companies across African markets and providing trade finance to facilitate the movement of goods, services and payments. He also outlined CIB Kenya’s appetite for financing major infrastructure and mega projects in Kenya, alongside its growing engagement with development finance institutions.
The CIB Kenya chief highlighted significant opportunities for Egyptian-Kenyan partnerships in energy, construction, water and infrastructure, extending beyond traditional contracting to joint ventures, project finance and technology transfer.
The interview also addresses Kenya’s rapidly expanding FinTech ecosystem, digital payments and the potential for closer financial cooperation between Egypt and Kenya, including through PAPSS. Looking ahead, Mwithiga expects artificial intelligence, data, digital infrastructure and interoperable payment systems to fundamentally reshape Africa’s banking industry and accelerate the continent’s financial integration.
The following is the text of the interview :
>> How can regional banking institutions act as more effective catalysts for accelerating true African economic integration and the realization of AfCFTA objectives?
Regional banks can act as effective catalysts in numerous ways. These include acting as matchmaking conduits between companies operating in different African markets. Banks can also offer trade finance products that support the smooth flow of goods, services, and payments, thereby providing direct financing opportunities for companies on both sides of cross-border trade corridors.
>> What is the bank’s strategic appetite and current exposure regarding the financing of large-scale infrastructure assets in Kenya?
CIB Kenya Limited’s (CIB K) strategy is to take an active role in financing Kenya’s large infrastructure and mega projects, in line with CIB’s approach to supporting the economy. The bank has already participated in some projects through direct financing and/or indirect facilities for contractors.
>> To what extent is the bank integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria into its portfolio, specifically concerning renewable energy and sustainability projects?
The bank has been progressively strengthening its alignment with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks. CIB is actively developing a robust ESG strategy to anchor its sustainability ambitions and deliver long-term value for its clients, employees, and the communities it serves.
>> How can the pan-African banking sector innovatively mobilise capital to bridge the massive infrastructure and energy financing deficits across the continent?
Bridging Africa’s infrastructure and energy financing gap requires moving beyond traditional balance sheet lending toward more innovative and ecosystem-driven capital mobilisation models.
To achieve this, banks are increasingly providing debt capital through structured finance and syndication, partnering with DFIs, export credit agencies, and institutional investors to de-risk large-scale projects and extend tenor.
For example, this includes co-financing infrastructure projects alongside institutions such as the Trade Development Bank (TBD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the African Development Bank (AfDB); structuring export credit-backed facilities for energy projects; and arranging syndicated loans for major transport corridor developments, where risk is shared across multiple lenders.
Furthermore, there is a significant opportunity in blended finance models, where public or concessional capital absorbs early-stage risk and unlocks private sector participation at scale, including through public-private partnerships and capital market instruments. In parallel, the sector must deepen local capital markets, including infrastructure bonds, green bonds, and securitisation structures, to mobilise long-term domestic savings. Banks should also leverage digital platforms and trade finance ecosystems to improve capital velocity, transparency, and access, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participating in infrastructure value chains.
Moreover, there is a growing shift toward cashflow-based lending, where banks structure financing around predictable project revenues in infrastructure and energy, enabling greater scalability and reducing reliance on traditional collateral-heavy models. Ultimately, the solution is not only to provide more debt capital, but also to leverage smarter intermediation to mobilise global, regional, and domestic capital into coordinated and bankable investment pipelines.
>> Is the bank actively forging syndications or strategic alliances with international and regional development finance institutions (DFIs) to back high-impact projects in East Africa?
Yes. As previously stated, the bank has participated in syndications with DFIs for public road projects in Kenya. It is also building bilateral relationships with DFIs, leveraging the longstanding relationships already established by CIB.
>> How do you evaluate the potential for cross-border joint ventures between Egyptian and Kenyan firms within the energy, construction, and infrastructure verticals?
There is significant potential in these verticals, and publicly available information indicates growing interest from Egyptian corporates in Kenya, particularly in the engineering, contracting, energy, water, construction, and infrastructure sectors.
For example, a distinguished Egyptian construction company publicly reported a business delegation visit to Kenya in 2023, during which it engaged Kenyan government stakeholders on opportunities in roads, bridges, housing, water, sanitation, irrigation, and broader public works, including discussions with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI).
More broadly, Egyptian contractors and infrastructure players are publicly recognised as major regional players with strong expertise in large-scale infrastructure, energy, water, industrial, and engineering projects across Egypt,
Africa, and the Middle East. In addition, the 2024 Kenya–Egypt Business Forum in Nairobi reported the participation of around 40 Egyptian companies across construction, transport, water, tourism, manufacturing, and healthcare. Similarly, recent Water, Electricity, and Power (WEPEX) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) investment forums have highlighted Egyptian company interest in water, electricity, power, renewable energy, construction, infrastructure, chemicals, fertilisers, textiles, ICT, digital services, trade, and distribution.
These examples suggest that the opportunity is not limited to one-off contracting but extends to joint ventures, Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) partnerships, supplier networks, technology transfer, project finance, and trade finance solutions that can connect Egyptian project implementation capabilities with Kenya’s infrastructure and regional gateway ambitions.
>> How is the bank responding to, or partnering with, the hyper-growth of the FinTech ecosystem and digital-first banking paradigms in Kenya?
CIB Kenya Limited (CIB K) is taking a selective and partnership-oriented approach to Kenya’s fast-growing fintech ecosystem. Rather than positioning itself as a fintech platform leader, the bank is using digital capabilities to strengthen corporate banking, trade finance, payments, and cross-border services while building the infrastructure for deeper fintech partnerships.
The bank is aligning with Kenya’s digital-first ecosystem by integrating with dominant payment rails such as M-Pesa and Pesalink, enabling customers to move funds across digital payment platforms and CIB accounts.
This allows CIB K to participate in Kenya’s mobile-money-driven economy rather than compete against it. Moreover, the bank is positioning itself as a financial backbone for corporates and trade, complementing fintechs by providing capabilities they typically do not offer at scale. This includes trade finance, foreign exchange, cash management, and structured corporate lending, particularly for clients operating across borders.
CIB K’s direction is increasingly ecosystem-led, recognizing that innovation in Kenya is driven by fintech-native platforms and that value lies in embedding banking services within digital journeys while retaining the balance sheet strength, governance, and regulatory trust of a bank.
Overall, the bank’s strategy integrates its financial strength and regulatory position with fintech-driven distribution and customer experience, creating a hybrid model that is scalable, relevant, and aligned with Kenya’s digital economy.
>> What concrete opportunities exist for bilateral synergy between Egypt and Kenya in the realms of financial technology and banking innovation?
Egypt and Kenya have highly complementary strengths in financial services, offering significant opportunities for bilateral collaboration. Kenya is a global leader in mobile money, digital payments, and fintech innovation, while Egypt offers an extensive banking sector, deeper capital markets, and robust corporate and transaction banking capabilities.
Together, they can advance more efficient cross-border payment systems, digital trade finance solutions, interoperable payment platforms, and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing products, facilitating growing trade and investment flows between North and East Africa.
In addition, there is an emerging opportunity around digital trade enablement, where fintech solutions such as cross-border wallets, application programming interfaces (APIs), foreign exchange (FX) platforms, and pan-African payment rails can support SMEs participating in intra-African trade by reducing transaction costs and settlement friction.
In this context, CIB Kenya Limited (CIB K) is also exploring how frameworks such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) could support Egypt–Kenya trade settlements by enabling businesses to pay and receive funds in local African currencies, reducing dependence on the USD. This, in turn, lowers correspondent banking friction, making intra-African trade settlement faster and more efficient.
On the other hand, regulatory and digital infrastructure alignment under initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol and digital public infrastructure programs is establishing the foundation for shared standards in digital identity, payments, and data exchange. This is critical to scaling fintech solutions across both markets.
Overall, the greatest opportunity lies in building a seamless financial corridor, connecting businesses, investors, and fintech ecosystems across the two regions.
This includes partnerships focused on open banking APIs, embedded finance, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven risk and fraud management, digital identity solutions, and fintech investment initiatives. By combining Kenya’s innovation-led fintech ecosystem with Egypt’s banking scale and regional reach, both markets can accelerate financial inclusion, enhance trade connectivity, and support the development of a more integrated African digital economy.
>> Looking ahead, how do you envision the structural evolution of the African banking industry as financial technology and digital transformation approach absolute maturity?
As financial technology and digital transformation mature, the African banking industry is likely to evolve from a traditional intermediation model into a digitally integrated, platform-based financial ecosystem.
Traditional banking methods such as branch networks and physical presence remain important, while competitive differentiation will increasingly depend on data, technology, ecosystem partnerships, customer experience, and the ability to operate seamlessly across markets.
Banking services will become embedded in fintech platforms, e-commerce ecosystems, marketplaces, and mobile-first channels through application programming interfaces (APIs) and open-banking frameworks, building on the mobile-money foundations already seen in markets such as Kenya.
Furthermore, the industry will transition toward an interoperable pan-African financial infrastructure, with initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)-enabled digital payments, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), digital identity systems, and data-sharing frameworks creating a more unified and efficient market. PAPSS is particularly relevant as it is designed to support intra-African trade settlement in local currencies, helping reduce reliance on the USD, lower correspondent banking friction, and make cross-border trade payments faster and more efficient.
Banks will increasingly reposition themselves as balance sheet providers, risk managers, and trusted infrastructure partners, while fintechs continue to help banks innovate in areas such as customer acquisition, front-end experience, and products.
On the other hand, data, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital infrastructure will become the core drivers of competitive advantage, enabling hyper-personalisation, real-time credit decisioning, higher risk and fraud management, and more efficient operations and capital allocation across markets. The sector is likely to consolidate around a smaller number of well-capitalised regional champions with strong digital capabilities and scalable operating models.
Ultimately, the future of African banks will be less defined by physical presence and more by their ability to function as trusted digital platforms, deeply embedded in ecosystems, powered by data, and capable of connecting consumers, businesses, fintechs, and investors across the continent’s increasingly integrated digital economy.
