Nairobi, April 1 -- I&M Group plans to double its physical branches in Kenya to 100 by the end of 2026 in the race to increase its share of the retail banking business.

The expansion is part of the lender's three-year strategy dubbed iMara 3.0 which will run until the end of 2026.

Achieving 100 branches from the current 50 will mean opening at least 17 each year.

I&M Bank Kenya CEO Gul Khan said in an interview that doubling the physical branches would boost growth in retail banking.

"A big part of our strategy is to scale up our retail business. Historically, I&M Bank has been a fantastic corporate and SME [small and medium-sized enterprises] bank. Part of our strategy is to build up retail banking. To do that, we are trying hard to ...