Business Reporter
Pan-African banking group BancABC is set to benefit from a $300 million project set up by its parent company Atlas Mara and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the US government’s development finance institution.
Under the terms of the agreement, OPIC will provide $200 million in long-term debt and Atlas Mara is providing $100 million of committed resources – for a combined $300 million project. The project will have a positive developmental impact enhancing one of sub-Saharan African’s fastest growing financial institutions.
The project will support BancABC – Atlas Mara’s Southern African banking platform – by expanding operations in the region. BancABC will scale up its SME loan portfolio, increase on-lending for financial inclusion products, and invest in information technology upgrades to quicken implementation of its new financial technology and mobile banking initiatives.
Together these initiatives will enable Atlas Mara to increase its presence in sub-Saharan Africa.
Furthermore, $130 million of OPIC’s $200 million debt under this project will be dedicated towards financing strategic acquisitions to facilitate expansion of Atlas Mara’s platform, footprint, and channels bolstering its developmental impact reach. Final closing of terms and conditions is anticipated during the fall of 2015.
Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO of OPIC said: “OPIC is delighted to be able to partner with the first rate international management team at Atlas Mara to help create a première banking group for Africa and serve the needs of unbanked citizens and businesses.
“This partnership will create financial inclusion programmes and access to funding for SMEs, increase the proliferation of mobile solutions and instil best practices for durable economic development.”
John Vitalo, CEO of Atlas Mara said: “This partnership with OPIC is a significant milestone for Atlas Mara. It will enable us to further accelerate our growth strategy and to deliver on our stated goals of being an innovation driven, scale player and contributing positively to the communities in which we operate, particularly with respect to increasing access to financial products and services to the under-banked. This project also serves as a powerful endorsement of our thesis regarding the prospects for sub-Saharan African financial services and Atlas Mara.”
Blessing Mudavanhu, Acting CEO of BancABC said: “BancABC is delighted to have been selected by OPIC in this landmark initiative which validates our strategy and local expertise. We have greatly benefited from Atlas Mara’s vision, and look forward to executing on building sub-Saharan Africa’s premier financial institution.”