Abdi Mohamed has started his tenure at I&M Bank Kenya, joining a business that has spent 2026 building a broader growth model around retail customers, small‑business clients, digital channels and its East African subsidiaries.

The bank entered the second half of 2026 with a 22 percent rise in six‑month net profit to KSh10.2 billion and a 23 percent increase in operating income to KSh33.7 billion, providing a strong financial base for Mohamed’s plans.

Balance‑sheet growth continued, with net loans up 15 percent to KSh334 billion and customer deposits up 18 percent to KSh505 billion, giving the bank a sizable platform for further retail and SME outreach.

Retail and SME lending now dominate the Kenyan loan book, which has crossed the KSh100 billion threshold, allowing the bank to cross‑sell payments, foreign‑exchange, wealth‑management and insurance services alongside traditional credit.

Digital onboarding is a core pillar of the strategy, with roughly 25,000 new accounts opened each month online and about 85 percent of retail accounts created digitally through national‑ID and smartphone verification.

The digital platform links customer acquisition, transaction activity and lending, enabling small traders to receive working‑capital loans and providing data that feeds credit assessments and additional product offers.

Regionally, subsidiaries in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania contributed 33 percent of group pre‑tax profit in the first half of 2026, up from 25 percent a year earlier, underscoring the growing importance of cross‑border earnings.

Mohamed’s previous leadership experience in Tanzania equips him to leverage shared technology across markets, though differing regulatory environments and customer behaviours add complexity to regional integration.

Despite strong headline growth, the Kenyan business recorded higher provisions and operating expenses, reflecting the tension between expanding distribution and controlling costs.

Mohamed’s immediate task is to turn the existing strategic pieces—retail and SME expansion, digital onboarding, and regional earnings—into profitable, sustainable relationships rather than merely increasing size.