The journey of the institution popularly known as the Kenya Women Holding (KWH) goes back thirty six years ago when the institution was founded in 1981, operating under the name Kenya Women Finance Trust ( KWFT).

Over the years, the institution established a name as the largest financial and non-financial provider in Kenya with a vast network of operations across the country and simply known as ‘ Kenya Women.’

KWFT continued lending monies to women entrepreneurs until 2009 when the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) introduced new rules to regulate the micro-finance sector, which led to the creation of two institutions, KWFT and KWH. KWFT being the lending institution and KWH providing development services. This separation of roles was effected in April 2010 with KWFT remaining a full subsidiary of KWH. This marked one more milestone in ENA’s journey in serving families through women in Kenya.

By March 2014, KWFT had grown to become a full fledged bank regulated

fully by the CBK. KWH divested its shareholding of KWFT from 100% to 25% in compliance with the CBK rules and regulations. To date, KWFT Bank remains an associate company of the KWH.

On its part, KWH established a niche in providing various non-financial services, advocating for the inclusion of women in society and especially in leadership as well as engaging women in development initiatives in various sectors such as agriculture, entrepreneurship, health and youth mentorship programs.

While this relationship has been mutually beneficial, the downside has been that KWFT bank is often confused with the Holding company and vice versa, hence the need to change the name from KWH to Echo Network Africa ( ENA) in order to differentiate the two brands and give each space to pursue its distinct functions. The decision to change names from KWH to ENA was arrived at after more than two years of consultations with our stakeholders and was reflected in the development of ENA’s 2018 – 2022 Strategic Plan.