[2] SMEP Mircofinance Bank started out in 1975 as a relief arm of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK).

Later on, NCCK realized that the poor needed to be self-reliant and economically empower and thus converted the feeding program into a micro-credit scheme known as Small Scale Business Enterprise (SSBE).

In 2008, Small and Micro Enterprise Programme adopted its acronym "SMEP" as its official name and was registered as a company limited by shares.

[4] On 14 December 2010, SMEP was awarded a deposit taking licence by the Central Bank of Kenya.

[2] The shareholding in SMEP Mircofinance Bank is summarized in the table below:[7] Note: Small and Micro Enterprise Programme is a company limited by guarantee and wholly owed by the NCCK.SMEP Mircofinance Bank is governed by a six-person board of directors.