Strategies Used by Indegeneous Kenyan Commercial Banks in Expanding Into Africa

Abstract

The study is a comprehensive evaluation of the strategies adopted by the indigenous Kenyan banks in expanding into Africa and the challenges faced. Various variables were used to establish the strategies adopted by the banks in regional expansion. The study targeted the eight indigenous commercial banks with regional presence in East Africa, Southern Sudan and Rwanda. Ten out of the sixteen (67%) targeted individuals responded. The study found that there were several entry strategies including strategic alliances, Joint Ventures, foreign direct investments/ wholly owned subsidiaries, Agencies used by Kenyan banks to enter into foreign market. The study also revealed that most of the banks were planning to use the same strategy to expand to other regions in Africa. The respondent confirmed that the level of political stability and the nature of legal systems are some of the challenges faced when entering new countries. Others were state of local economy, availability of skilled labor and quality of managerial workforce. Most of the banks confirmed to have considered the underlying challenges in various countries before adopting the most appropriate entry strategy.