Ecobank Burkina
Burkina Faso is a harsh, unforgiving environment – poor, underdeveloped and recently suffering disruption to its trade and industrial prospects caused by the internal strife in neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. Despite this, Ecobank Burkina was able to produce a solid set of results in 2004, reporting profits up 18% to $2.4m.
The judges took note of Ecobank’s ongoing efforts to roll out modern banking services even in the absence of obvious economies of scale and technology infrastructure. Leveraging the benefits of its group association, Ecobank Burkina last year launched ATMs for the first time into the market as well as internet banking. It also improved its own telephone exchange, allowing customers to talk directly to sales agents.
Also noted by the judges was Ecobank’s commitment to training, investing substantial sums in improving the skills of its workforce. In the context of the country, this is an important competitive advantage.
According to managing director Latifou Yessoufou, the bank was able to increase its loan book by 28% while “controlling the portfolio risks with hard selection criteria and rigorous systems.” The future, says Mr Yessoufou, is to expand the branch network; increase the use of technology; retain the highly skilled employees; and limit fraud and money laundering activities.
