Nairobi, April 21 -- Equity Group added 538 employees to its payroll last year on an increased number of branches mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which hosts its most profitable subsidiary.

The lender disclosed in its latest annual report that the number of permanent staff hit 8,226 in the year ended December 2022 from 7,688 in the previous year.

The latest numbers mean Equity has expanded its workforce by 1,908 in the past four years, highlighting the impact of continued expansion in the region. It had 6,318 staff in 2018.

Equity had by September last year added 16 branches to hit 353 from 337 in December 2021, with DRC's Equity Banque Commerciale du Congo (Equity BCDC) branches increasing from 70 to 81.

The group no...