GAB was established in September 2007 and commenced operations in December 2007. The Bank offers a wide range of Shariah compliant banking products and services and over the last five years has made considerable progress in raising awareness on Islamic banking in Kenya. The Bank was established by a group of institutional investors from the Gulf region and Kenya. Shareholders representing 90% of the equity in GAB include:

Shareholder
% Held
Description
Istithmar World
32.0%
Government of Dubai sovereign fund focusing on private equity and alternative investment
BMI Bank BSC (formerly Bank Muscat International BSC)
21.3%
Established by Bank Muscat Oman and registered in Bahrain as vehicle for investments outside Gulf Cooperation Council.
Mr. Abdullah Mohammed Al Romaizan
21.3%
A leading investor based in Saudi Arabia.
Gulf Cap Group
10.3%
Investment company based in Dubai.
PTA Bank
5.3%
Regional development finance institution set up by the member countries of Eastern and Southern Africa

The proposed IFC investment consists of a US$ 5million equity investment in GAB and a US$ 3 million trade line.

4.98 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan
Equity	4.98

* These investment figures are indicative

GAB has its head office in Nairobi, Kenya. The Bank has established a network of [14] branches located in Nairobi, Mombasa and Garissa in Kenya.

By supporting the expansion of GAB, IFC will seek to achieve strong development impact as demonstrated by:
i) increased access to finance for retail, SME and corporate customers;
ii) increased targeting of women entrepreneurs to grow the Bank''s portfolio of loans to women run/owned businesses; and
iii) affordable trade finance products for SMEs.

Through this project, IFC will lend credibility to a nascent Islamic banking market segment in Kenya, enhance competition within the banking sector and promote overall market development . In addition, IFC is well placed to work closely with GAB and other players in this emerging segment to engage with the regulators within the region to facilitate faster growth in Islamic banking within the region.

Other key areas where IFC will add value to the Bank through this investment include:
i) improved corporate governance through the recruitment of an IFC nominated independent director to GAB''s board as well as championing for an increase in the number of independent directors on the board;
ii) through IFC''s AMSME and GTFP programs, IFC is well placed to significantly enhance the Bank''s capacity in SME banking and trade finance and position it to expand its product offering and increase revenues; and
iii) capacity building in the Bank''s social and environmental risk management capabilities and bring this closer to international best practice levels;

The project has been classified as a Category FI project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedure. The bank’s portfolio is considered medium risk; most of the loans are to SME clients in low to medium risk sectors which have potential limited adverse environmental or social risks or impacts that are largely reversible, and readily addressed through mitigation measures. The Applicable Performance Requirements for the project are the Exclusion List, the applicable National Laws in Kenya and the Performance Standards.