Dr. Charles Asiedu, the Managing Director of Ecobank Tanzania, has outlined the bank’s ongoing efforts to promote Tanzania’s economic growth by strengthening financial support across key sectors, while also introducing simplified payment solutions.

During a visit to The Guardian Limited’s offices earlier this week, Dr. Asiedu detailed the bank’s goal to position itself among Tanzania’s top ten financial institutions by promoting financial inclusion.

Aiming for the top ten

“We are currently in the middle of the market rankings, but we aspire to break into the top ten,” Dr. Asiedu noted. 

He emphasized that Tanzania's vibrant economy offers vast opportunities, creating space for everyone.

Facilitating trade with comprehensive solutions

Through its innovative Ecobank Trade Hub, the bank provides extensive trade solutions designed to facilitate both domestic and cross-border commerce. 

Ecobank’s trade services use various payment methods to streamline transactions across Africa.

A key feature of these services is the Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub, which helps businesses leverage the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

The hub is a one-stop shop providing information about the AfCFTA, access to Ecobank’s full range of trade facilitation products and solutions (covering trade finance, advisory, payments and collections) as well as a marketplace for products, services and businesses across Africa.

With AfCFTA linking 1.4 billion people across 54 African nations, the initiative is projected to increase Africa’s exports by $560 billion. 

Dr. Asiedu highlighted that Ecobank supports both exporters and importers, whether a Tanzanian business needs financing to export cashew nuts or a Ghanaian company requires funding to import the same.

In partnership with the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Ecobank also facilitates payment solutions at the Dar es Salaam port, easing the payment process for clearing goods. 

Last year, the bank’s parent group was recognized by Global Finance Magazine as the Best Trade Finance Provider 2023.

Strategic presence 

Since its East African entry in 2008, and physical presence in Tanzania in 2010, Ecobank has established branches in key regions such as Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Mwanza. 

Highlighting the bank’s regional strategy, Dr. Asiedu in Arusha and Mwanza regions, the major focus is to tap tourism and mining sector.

Explaining, Dr Asiedu said, for Arusha, the bank focuses on the tourism sector, a crucial part of the economy that now outpaces gold in foreign exchange earnings. 

He said Ecobank provides tailored financing and payment solutions for tour operators, enabling them to purchase essential equipment like tour vehicles.

In Mwanza, he said, Ecobank is actively targeting the mining sector, offering financing and payment platforms for key mining operations.

According to him, the bank has also been involved in financing large-scale national infrastructure projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and investments in the oil and gas sector. 

Additionally, he revealed that Ecobank has allocated 10bn/- to support government employees with personal financing options.

Advancing a digital banking

Dr Asiedu said Ecobank’s digital transformation plan is also well underway, as the bank currently works closely with fintechs and mobile network operators (MNOs) to advance financial access for Tanzanians. 

He confidently proud that Ecobank Mobile platform has become one of the best globally, contributing to the promotion of a cashless economy across the world. 

In the near future, he revealed that the bank is planning to launch a credit card service, while expanding the use of the Ecobank card for different transactions including payments.

“You don’t even need to have an account to access Ecobank card services,” Dr. Asiedu emphasized, highlighting the bank’s commitment to convenience and accessibility.

Gender inclusivity and empowerment

In addition to its financial services, he said Ecobank has made significant strides in promoting gender equality within its workforce. 

Dr. Asiedu noted that the bank has achieved a 50/50 gender balance among its employees, with women holding 45 percent of management positions. 

“This is the highest gender ratio you can find in other institutions,” he remarked.

Through its Ellevate Programme, Ecobank provides tailored financial solutions to women entrepreneurs, including favorable lending rates, smart cash management systems, and access to leadership training, mentoring, and networking opportunities. 

Ecobank commercial banking is allocating a minimum of 10 percent of its loan portfolio to women businesses.

This will enable them to play a major role in Africa’s social economic development, in addition to creating millions of jobs needed by this and future generations of Tanzanians.

Generally, this Ecobank Group’s program aims to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa, where women own a third of all registered SMEs. 

The African Development Bank estimates that women-owned SMEs face a $42 billion financing gap, making Ecobank’s support critical to their growth.

In July last year, Ecobank was named Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) by the prestigious Euromoney Awards for Excellence for the second year running, having also won the accolade in 2022.

Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, said after the award that: “This award reflects Ecobank’s absolute commitment to supporting African SMEs and our continuous suite of innovations – financial and non-financial – to spur their growth and success. We aim to be the bank of choice for Africa’s SMEs”.

Pan-African presence

Ecobank Tanzania is a subsidiary of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a leading pan-African financial conglomerate headquartered in Lomé, Togo. 

The group operates in 32 sub-Saharan African countries and maintains banking licenses in France, along with representative offices in global hubs such as Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Beijing, London, and Dubai.

Through these initiatives, Ecobank continues to play a vital role in advancing economic growth, fostering trade, and empowering businesses across Tanzania and the broader African continent.