Josephine Anan-Ankomah - Afrikan Heroes

Ecobank Launches RapidCollect™ for Seamless Payments Across Africa with One Account

September 11, 2022

Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Group Executive, Commercial Banking, Ecobank

The panafrican banking group, Ecobank has made another promise to link financial transactions seamlessly across the continent through a single bank account. With this one account, business customers can receive funds instantly from their clients in their home country and across Ecobank’s (www.Ecobank.com) pan-African network; Ecobank business customers can now make instant automated reconciliation leveraging Ecobank’s trusted technology.

The leading pan-African Banking Group, Ecobank Group, has simplified collections across Africa through RapidCollect™. RapidCollect™ enables Ecobank’s business customers to receive payments from their clients in their home country and across Ecobank’s network of 33 affiliates, instantly and at a lower cost than any other current cross-border solution.

RapidCollect™ caters for the needs of business customers across Africa, as the continent is at a unique point in its history. Immense trade, investment and economic growth opportunities are driven by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)’s creation of a single African market. The Economic Commission for Africa has forecast that the AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade by about 40%

Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Group Executive, Commercial Banking, Ecobank said “With the African Continental Free Trade Area offering untold trading growth opportunities for Africa’s businesses, it is imperative that the payment and collection infrastructure proactively caters for the needs of our continent’s small and medium sized businesses by facilitating their cross-border trade. Ecobank’s Rapid-Collect™ further advances our determination to remove intra-African trade barriers by providing a fast, innovative, secure, hassle-free and reliable collection solution for our SME customers which leverages the collective scale and strength of our 33-country pan-African network”.

Isaac Kamuta, Group Head, Payment services, Cash Management and client access, Ecobank Group added: “The launch of RapidCollect™ reaffirms our leadership as the Best Bank for Cash Management in Africa. It provides a fast, innovative, secure, and reliable solution for our customers which leverages the collective scale and strength of our 33-country pan-African network. Our customers only need an Ecobank account in their home country – rather than needing an account in every country in which they trade. It removes the delays previously inherent in cross-border business payments and addresses the issues created by fluctuating forex rates.”

Through RapidCollect, Ecobank’s Commercial Banking and Corporate and Investment Banking customers benefit from the convenience of:

one account to receive business payments hassle-free from across our 33-country network instant payments into their Ecobank account in their home country and across our network automated reconciliation for our businesses with capabilities to integrate their billing system secured transactions via Ecobank’s tried and trusted technology easier cross-border payments to seize opportunities from the AfCFTA’s continent-wide single market RapidCollect™ is available at Ecobank branches and it is already integrated into our digital channels. The solution is subject to the regulations in each country.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ecobank Offers Bancassurance to SMEs

December 14, 2021

Africa’s continental financial power house, Ecobank Group through its commercial banking arm is partnering with five insurance companies (OLD MUTUAL, ALLIANZ, SUNU, SANLAM & NSIA) to offer a range of Bancassurance solutions to Ecobank’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) customers across markets where Ecobank operates. These customers will now benefit from the convenience of being able to access relevant solutions for all their insurance needs.

Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Ecobank Group Executive, Commercial Banking said: “Adding a comprehensive suite of Bancassurance solutions, in partnership with some of the most reputable insurance service providers across Africa, makes us a one-stop financial services hub. Furthermore, the resilience of SME businesses is enhanced through the effective risk transfer that Bancassurance provides, while our solutions also offer our valued customers the satisfaction of knowing that they will have some protection, having learnt from the painful experiences of COVID-19.”

The insurance products offered include Commercial Asset Insurance, Engineering insurance, Marine & Cargo insurance, Key Man insurance, Motor fleet Business Travel insurance, in addition to bespoke offerings such as Credit Insurance-Leasing, Credit Insurance-Invoice Discounting Without Recourse, and Agricultural Area Yield Insurance.

The Bancassurance service will be rolled out in phases, starting with Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. Ecobank Group’s 21 other affiliates will come onboard in the second phase.

Demand for Bancassurance services from SMEs across our markets has been on the rise as businesses seek to shake off the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by looking for solutions to cushion themselves from similar occurrences in the future.

Africa’s insurance industry is valued at about US$68 billion in terms of Gross Written Premium (GWP). Prior to COVID-19, the insurance market in Africa was expected to grow at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 7 percent per annum between 2020 and 2025, nearly twice as fast as North America, over three times that of Europe, and better than Asia’s 6 percent. This makes the continent the second-fastest-growing region for insurance globally after Latin America – thanks to steady economic growth in most countries and the underdeveloped insurance sector.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ecobank Partners Microsoft to Digitalise More African SMEs

July 27, 2021

Pan-African financial powerhouse Ecobank Transnational is partnering with Microsoft with the objective to prepare more African SMEs to be digital businesses. This follows recent developments in the business sphere as the adoption of online business models seem to have caught on as a result of both the covid-19 effect and the mobile phone penetration.

Josephine Anan-Ankomah, the Group Executive for Commercial Banking at Ecobank.

Extended lockdowns disrupted business supply chains, constraining demand and supply and revenue streams. Adopting digital alternatives for offline business processes became necessary for survival.

By 2025, there will be 614 million unique mobile subscribers in Africa, according to GSMA, up from 477 million in 2019. Smartphone adoption is projected to reach 65%.

But how many Africa businesses, especially SMEs, have the right skills and resources to compete in this digital business landscape? Ecobank, through its Commercial Banking department, is joining the effort to address such a concern.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has turbocharged the shift towards digital. It is essential that businesses adapt so that they are able to compete effectively in today’s rapidly changing landscape,” said Josephine Anan-Ankomah, the Group Executive for Commercial Banking at Ecobank.

Ecobank is partnering with Microsoft, which has already consorted with LinkedIn and Github in a similar effort, to power Ecobank Academy to equip SMEs with required digital skills across sub-Saharan Africa.

This partnership is similar to that of Digify Africa and Facebook which provide graduates with free digital skill training and that of Google and Coursera, but free.

“Ecobank’s Commercial Banking is committed to supporting SMEs across our pan-African footprint. Through this partnership with Microsoft, LinkedIn, GitHub and Ecobank Academy we are offering training to equip business owners and their employees with the digital skills that they need to stay connected to their customers. We are intent on ensuring that our SME customers remain relevant, grow and succeed in the post-COVID-19 era.” Josephine concluded.

Prior to the pandemic, there have been a number of incentives to build digital talents in Africa.

In 2016, Livity Africa now Digify Africa joined forces with Google to build one million digital talents in Africa, the relationship didn’t go well and Digify Africa later moved in with Facebook. Similarly, over two million Africans have taken a course or two with Google Digital Garage – a free online digital skill course that issues shareable micro-certificates.

These and many similar programs have played a major role in building digital capacity across the African continent but there is still a huge digital gap begging to be filled.

The program will cover 10 skill sets: Customer Services; Digital Marketing; Financial Analysis; Graphic Design; IT Support/Help Desk; Project Management; Sales; Data Analysis; IT Administration; And Software Development.

According to LinkedIn, these are some of the most demanded skills in the market, especially software development, project management, data analysis and financial analysis.

The programme is scheduled to run until the 31st of December 2021. Participants can enrol and complete courses at their own pace and at times that work best for them.

For Microsoft, the partnership aligns with its process and commitment to building digital talent pipelines to support the workforce of the future.

“Beyond the future workforce, digital talent will also support more local innovation, as developers and entrepreneurs are empowered to create locally relevant solutions that best address the challenges and needs of African countries,” said Ibrahim Youssry, regional general manager at Microsoft.

With the rise of remote work and increased demand for tech talent, digital training could help fill gaps especially in emerging economies like Africa which have a young population.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

New $4.5m Zero-Interest Loan Program For African Startups And SMEs From ESP

August 25, 2020

Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP), in partnership with the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) and close collaboration with Ecobank, has launched the African Resilience Initiative for Entrepreneurs (ARIE) — a pan-african initiative to provide financial and technical assistance to 300 entrepreneurs (approximately 70% of whom will be women-owned) impacted by COVID-19.

“At ESP, we fully comprehend that SMEs are the engine of economic growth and development in every country. Since its inception 10 years ago, ESP has developed and implemented a variety of customized programs specifically geared towards supporting SMEs in more than 15 African countries. Through our Pan African reach, we understand that African SMEs are more vulnerable than ever in the new Covid-19 reality, which is the impetus behind the ARIE program. We are delighted to offer this initiative to help them navigate this pandemic while continuing to grow their business, be a source of employment and improvement in the welfare of people in their communities,” said Eric Kacou.

Here Is What You Need To Know

The program will support 300 high-performing entrepreneurs with up to 150,000 USD each in zero-interest loans, and will provide technical support to spur Africa’s economic recovery.
ARIE will support entrepreneurs from seven countries: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda, and in the following sectors: Agri-Business, Manufacturing, Energy and Renewables, and Essential Services. Each SME selected will have the opportunity to receive up to 150,000 USD per firm, disbursed as an interest-free loan, and will receive technical support from experts across the continent.

“Entrepreneurs are an important part of the ecosystem; they create markets where there often are none and help pave the way for future economic development,” USADF President and CEO C.D. Glin stated. “Now more than ever we need to invest in the next generation of African-led ventures and empower them with the tools they need to transform their businesses, create jobs, increase incomes, attract private investment, and impact their communities.”

What Startups And SMEs Stand To Gain From The Partnership

Intelligent Business Financing — In line with ESP ’s drive to provide Intelligent Capital*, The zero-interest loans will be disbursed to leading profitable businesses, providing them with the working capital they need to maintain operations and scale despite the pandemic. Additionally, the ARIE platform will be a repository on a wide range of topics, including access to markets, building human capacity and scaling.

*Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Group Executive, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Group*

“We know the continent, have the platforms and have worked with SMEs variously in the 7 countries where the program will be implemented. We understand the critical role SMEs play in African economies and the imperative for them to access technical and financial support more so now with the impact of COVID-19. Ecobank is particularly pleased with ARIE’s focus on women and youth led businesses which are key to the economic and social development of the continent,” Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Group Executive, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Group commenting on the collaboration stated that the Ecobank Group is delighted to be part of the ARIE Program.

Equipping SMEs with the tools to pivot — Africa’s businesses are as diverse as Africans are, and the immediate and concrete technical support available through the fund will be tailored to their unique needs. Each entrepreneur will be assigned a business advisor that will support them in diagnosing and rethinking their strategy and operational efficiency, and a team of experts that will help them adapt and navigate this present economic reality. By doing this, the ARIE platform will provide African SMEs with the unique opportunities and business exposure that position them to play a meaningful role in Africa’s economic recovery in the years to come.
Connecting African businesses — In an era where Intra-Africa trade is key, the ARIE platform will help SMEs harness opportunities unleashed by the establishment of an African Continental Free Trade Area.
The ARIE platform will help connect African SMEs to potential investors and networks they require to expand their geographical coverage, and will enhance their capacity to trade across borders. These connections will be critical is recouping devastated African economies and jumpstarting economic recovery.

How Startups May Apply

Applications are open till the 25th of September, 2020. Apply here: https://bit.ly/ARIE2020

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer