‘Ecobank in Zambia to stay’

Thu, 08 Dec 2016 07:03:01 +0000

By Sandra Machima

ECOBANK Zambia has embarked on a strategic plan to focus on growing its business through innovation and technology as it moves towards embracing the digital platform as the next banking frontier.

Ecobank Zambia managing director Kola Adeleke said Ecobank was in Zambia to stay and that the bank was progressing with the strategic plans set for the entire Central, East and Southern Africa (CESA) region.

“We are consolidating our businesses to ensure that we give our customers optimal service, and in Zambia, we are focused at enabling our customers to transact their business efficiently, conveniently and fast. We are focusing more on leveraging on technology as the drivers of business across the country,” he said.

Mr Kola said Ecobank Zambia had embarked on a strategic plan to focus on growing its business through innovation and technology as it moves towards embracing the digital platform as the next banking frontier.

The Pan African bank is focused on its revamped mobile platform as well as internet banking as the next sources of growth in its business management, adding that the bank was in the forefront of recruiting 26,000 customers to take up the fast growing internet banking and the mobile banking platform.

He said the bank was in the process of integrating all its customers to its mobile banking platform dubbed “Ecobank Mobile”, in a move seen to revolutionize the banking sector in Zambia.

“This secured platform will allow efficient and fast service provision for customers as the sector gradually moves from brick and mortar to digital financial service provision,’’ he added.

He added that the bank was closely monitoring the growth in trade between CESA region member states and would support its customers doing business across the 18 countries that make up the Ecobank CESA region.

He disclosed that Ecobank Zambia reported the highest year on year growth of 74 percent in the industry in profit before tax, in its third quarter financial results.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio was 37 percent, way above minimum requirement of 10 percent and liquidity ratio of 34 percent against minimum regulatory requirement of 6 percent, and results attests to the trajectory the bank is taking while delivering cutting edge service to its customers

Mr Kola explained that the move to position the bank as a leader in the market would give much needed impetus in the financial market in Zambia at a time when regional financial institutions were under much pressure to shore up support for customers.

“Ecobank Zambia will continue to offer top notch financial service to its customers in all its eight branches in the country, and our commitment to our customers is to offer the best financial service,” he said.