From its inception, the Ecobank ethos has embraced a commitment to enhance economic development across sub-Sahara Africa.
The pieces of an early Ecobank concept began to fall into place at a meeting of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce in Mali in 1972. Members at the meeting began to debate the idea of a private sector institution that would help facilitate trade in the sub-region. The next landmark date for Ecobank was the 5th of October 1985, when an agreement was reached with the Togolese government for the bank’s headquarters to be based in Togo.
While the 1980s were years of great political upheaval, with coups, civil wars and single party rule prevalent across a significant number of sub-Saharan African countries, the Ecobank Group opened branches in five African states within three years of its establishment in 1988. A second wave of expansion followed from 1997 to 2001, when the group’s coverage increased from five to twelve countries.
It would have been hard to predict in the early days that the group would be running over 1,150 branches within 22 years and be widely acclaimed as the leading pan-African bank. By 2002, its consolidated balance sheet crossed the US$1 billion mark for the first time, and today Ecobank’s offices serve over 8.4 million customers.
Ecobank has not only become a world-class institution, it is also a torchbearer for a new Africa. The bank has become part of the mainstream banking culture in 32 sub-Sahara African countries, and many believe that the Ecobank brand has become a dominant expression of banking for millions of people.
Innovative technology
Technology underpins the strategy of the group. Our One Bank concept is a major initiative designed to ensure that the group operates to the same consistent standards in terms of processes and service delivery anchored on our technology platform. To this end, a Technology and Shared Services Centre has been built in Accra to centralize and standardize middle and back office operations across the group.
Our core banking system has also been upgraded to meet our higher operating standards.
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