The Botswana Stock Exchange listed financial services company, Letshego Holdings Services has acquired a 75 percent stake in a commercial bank in Tanzania as part of the strategy to advance their financial inclusion in Africa.
According to the group Managing Director, Chris Low the acquisition of Advans Bank Tanzania has been done by a way of subscription for new shares.
“This acquisition is a clear demonstration of our commitment to providing financially inclusive services to the lower and middle income segments of the society that have historically been under seen by traditional banks and lenders,” he said.
Low added the newly acquired bank will be renamed Faidika Bank in order to ensure wide distribution and market adoption of the integrated operations.
“We see this acquisition as a timely opportunity to place Letshego group at the forefront of supporting the government’s agenda for economic enablement,” he said.
He said this would add deposit taking, payments, business loans and savings solutions capability to its footprint in line with the strategy to diversify customer and revenue mix. Letshego already has deposit-taking licences in Namibia and Mozambique.
Letshego’s acquisition will also allow Faidika and Advans Bank Tanzania to contribute significantly to the financial inclusion agenda of the government of Tanzania by enabling cross selling of financial services.
Advans offerings include middle-income employees loans as well as current and savings accounts. The bank provides customer access through five branches, three of which are in and around the Dar es Salaam, as well as through ATM’s and third party agencies. In addition, Low said Tanzania has made great progress in increasing the availability of infrastructure and enablers for financial inclusion.
“Brand research commissioned by Letshego across five populous districts of Tanzania found a strong affiliation with the Faidika brand as a result of its responsible approach to financial services,” he added.
Currently, Letshego, which ranks among the top 30 market value sub Saharan African companies, has nine branches in the East and Southern Africa, which includes, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.
In Tanzania, they operate as Faidika, a brand that is distributed across all regions of Tanzania with services provided through 105 branches and satellite offices supported by 230 commission-based sales officers. Letshego has a market capitalisation of U$700 million and profitability in excess of U$52 million before tax, according to the interim results for period ending June 2015.
