SBM Bank Kenya has extended asset financing worth $4.44 million (approximately KSh575 million) to logistics company Beyond Continents Logistics Limited to fund a fleet expansion.
The loan will be used to purchase 50 heavy-duty Shacman prime movers equipped with Bhachu trailers, increasing the firm’s haulage capacity for importers, exporters and other traders along regional corridors.
The facility is part of the bank’s SME asset-finance programme, offering up to full financing for new vehicles and repayment periods of up to 720 days, together with ten-month commercial vehicle insurance to reduce upfront cash-flow strain.
Eric Wambua, director of corporate and institutional banking at SBM Bank Kenya, said flexible asset financing is essential for firms expanding to meet rising demand and that the bank aims to support growth with solutions aligned to business cash cycles.
Lawrence Ndushabandi of Beyond Continents Logistics said the addition of 50 high-capacity prime movers will markedly improve the company’s ability to handle growing import-export volumes and ensure operational reliability.
The transaction reflects SBM Bank Kenya’s strategy of leveraging the international expertise of its Mauritius-based parent, SBM Group, while applying local market insight to fund trade, transport and logistics businesses across East Africa.
The bank noted that commercial banks play a key role in providing productive-asset financing needed for efficient goods movement as regional economies pursue deeper trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
In the same period, SBM Bank Kenya reported a 171.3 per cent rise in profit before tax to KSh548 million and net profit after tax of KSh380.2 million.
Operating profit climbed 279 per cent to KSh852 million, customer deposits grew 24 per cent to KSh94 billion and net loans and advances increased 18 per cent to KSh54.1 billion.
Total assets reached KSh109.9 billion and shareholders’ equity stood at KSh11.1 billion, while the gross non-performing loan ratio fell to 17.3 per cent from 32.4 per cent in the prior comparable period.
SBM Bank Kenya entered the Kenyan market in 2017 and is a subsidiary of SBM Group, a Mauritius-headquartered financial services group with five decades of banking heritage, serving retail, SME and corporate clients through branches and digital channels.
The new logistics financing underscores the bank’s interest in the sector, with expanding regional trade expected to drive demand for greater haulage capacity and more efficient movement of goods across East Africa.
