Eco-Bank

Owner of one of the most successful Pan African Banking Groups, Eco-Bank yesterday launched two new branches at Quality Centre Mall and Mwenge in Dar es Salaam in a move to capture more Tanzanians left out of the banking business.

The bank’s fifth and fifth branches were officially opened by Finance Affairs minister Dr William Mgimwa on behalf of the Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, who said that Ecobank’s performance shows that Africans are capable of building world class banks.

The new branches are part of a strategic expansion designed to better serve existing commercial banking clients and to expand new relationships with customers in the city.

“We have now a total of five branches in different locations in Dar es Salaam and our plans are to open others branches in Arusha and Mwanza before the end of the year,” Deputy Board Chairperson of Ecobank Tanzania Limited-Peter Machunde said, describing the bank as a strategic partner in the country’s development.

He said its presence in Quality Centre Mall and Mwenge was in line with the bank’s mission to provide convenient, accessible and reliable products and services to its clients.

For his part, Ecobank Managing Director James Cantamantu-Koomson said the bank is committed towards improving the economy of the country by offering products and services that are in line with the dynamic and growing customer needs.

Speaking during the inauguration speech Dr William Mgimwa said: “Ecobank is indeed a testimony of what we as Africans can achieve if we believe in ourselves and work together. It is also a concrete example of how the private sector can lead in the integration of our economies for the betterment of our people. For a bank owned by Africans, managed by Africans, for the service to Africans and African businesses to grow in only 25 years to a world class financial institution of international repute, is indeed commendable.”

Highlighting the awards given to Ecobank, Dr William Mgimwa said it emerged as the African Bank of the Year in 2012, according to the Banker Magazine.

He commended the Group for investing more than USD20m in Tanzania noting that more than 50 per cent of the bank’s loans go to the SMEs sector.

With Ecobank’s customer-centric culture and its regional products such as Rapid Transfer, Regional cards, Ecotrade, Diaspora accounts and its one bank platform for regional businesses integration of the Tanzanian economy into the East African Common Market will be facilitated and enabled the country to attract maximum benefits for the regional bloc, he said.