Former Principal Secretary Esther Jepkemboi Koimett has emerged as the largest individual shareholder in a Kenyan commercial bank, holding a 17.48 per cent stake following a multimillion-shilling transfer of wealth from her late father’s estate.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The latest ownership disclosures place Koimett ahead of several corporate shareholders, including one with an 11.58 per cent stake and another holding 10.47 per cent.

Koimett’s stake follows the inheritance of wealth from her late father, businessman and former Cabinet minister Nicholas Biwott, who died in July 2017 and provided each of his children with an equal one-fourteenth share.

Public disclosures do not establish exactly when Koimett acquired her current stake, although the institution has confirmed her present 17.48 per cent ownership.

📌 What You Need to Know

Her position places her among prominent individual investors in Kenya’s banking sector and has also strengthened her involvement in the institution’s governance.

Koimett joined the institution’s board on February 26, 2024, with her appointment highlighting more than three decades of experience in banking, investment promotion, public enterprises and public policy.

Her emergence as a major shareholder also places her among a relatively small group of Kenyan women with significant investments in the financial sector.

Lawyer Jane Wanjiru Michuki, for instance, has previously held a minority stake and ranked among Kenya’s prominent female stock-market investors.

The institution is predominantly locally owned, with Kenyan investors controlling 90.22 per cent of the shares and foreign shareholders holding the remaining 9.78 per cent.

Companies account for 79.69 per cent of the ownership, while individuals hold 20.31 per cent, with Koimett having the largest individual stake.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke