From Bloomberg Business Week.

London-based Old Mutual, the U.K.’s third-largest insurer, said it plans to buy a controlling stake in Kenyan lender Faulu Kenya DTM Ltd. to tap growth in Africa.

Old Mutual, which started in South Africa more than 100 years ago, is building its operations on the continent as emerging markets contribute the bulk of the insurer’s earnings. Faulu is East Africa’s second-largest microfinance company with more than 400,000 customers and 100 outlets, Old Mutual said.

Acquisition of the first deposit-taking microfinance company to be licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya will be complete later this year, the report said.

“We are building on our existing business in Kenya with a significant extension of our distribution and product offering through this transaction,” Old Mutual CEO Julian Roberts said in the statement. “This is a further step in executing our strategy of expanding our African footprint.”

Read more at Bloomberg Business Week.