For many small businesses supplying Kenyan banks, sustainability has often meant one thing: paperwork, a policy to sign, not a practice to live.
I&M Bank is taking intentional measures in an effort to change that.
The lender has partnered with the United Nations Global Compact Network Kenya (UNGC Kenya) to launch a Supplier Sustainability Capacity Building Programme.
The fully sponsored initiative is meant to help its SME vendors build real environmental, social and governance (ESG) muscle, not just compliance files.
The programme kicked off on Friday, August 21, 2026, with a half-day workshop in Nairobi themed “Conducting Responsible Business.”
Sustainability experts, business leaders and SME owners sat down for a panel on how responsible practices can make smaller enterprises more resilient and competitive.
Beyond the launch, participating suppliers will go through a structured six-to-eight-week hybrid course run by UNGC Kenya’s team.
The sessions start with social and governance considerations before moving into environmental and climate action.
By the end, suppliers walk away with practical tools: ESG self-assessments and improvement roadmaps to help them spot gaps and gradually align with I&M Bank’s procurement standards.
I&M Group CFO David Ngata has tarmed the initiative as an investment in the ecosystem around the bank, not a compliance box-tick.
Ngata says a resilient bank needs a resilient network of businesses feeding into it and that enabling SMEs manage governance and environmental risks better positions them for long-term growth.
UNGC Kenya Executive Director Judy Njino added that equipping SMEs with practical ESG tools can boost their resilience and competitiveness, and open new doors.
I&M is set to issue a Call for Expressions of Interest soon, inviting eligible vendors to register for the programme’s first cohort, part of a broader push to green up the bank’s supply chain.
