The Board and Management of EB – ACCION Savings and Loans Company Ltd has rebranded to Pan-African Savings and Loans Company Ltd (PASL), as part of measures to strategically position the company to become a microfinance market leader in Africa.
The new name and logo of the company, which was unveiled in Accra today, was borne out of a partnership between Ecobank Ghana Ltd, ACCION Investments in Microfinance, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to provide financial services to the low-income and unbanked segment of the Ghanaian population.
The Managing Director of Pan-African Savings and Loans, Ms Emelia Atta-Fynn told journalists at a press launch that the new name-Pan-African Savings and Loans Limited was chosen to reflect their vision of becoming the leader in the microfinance sector in Africa within the next five years.
“This is part of measures being undertaken to strategically position ourselves to become a market leader on the continent. It is also to highlight our affiliation and links with Ecobank, our majority shareholder”.
Ms Atta-Fynn assured customer that: “Under our new brands, current and potential clients can look forward to new products and improved quality of service, by our friendly, diligent and dedicated staff whose contributions have impacted on the Company’s remarkable growth in less than a decade”.
Pan-African Savings and Loans will continue to make savings and access to finance much more relevant to the un-banked, low-income earners, micro, small and medium businesses, facilitating the creation of wealth and employment for our target market using credit and savings in a more convenient manner, she stated.
Ms Atta-Fynn revealed that to show their commitment to this cause, they intend to expand their network, not only through physical branches, but through digital financial services to reduce the financially excluded population.
We are confident that you will share in our vision of pan africanism and will continue to support us in living this vision. We assure you that PASL is here to stay and look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship, the MD of PASL stressed in her welcome address.
The Head of Other Financial Institutions at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Raymond Amanfu who was the guest speaker lauded the management of the Pan-African Savings and Loans for maintaining higher standard in the country’s microfinance sector.
“It is my hope that as you become Pan-African Savings and Loans, you still need to maintain your focus to enable you serve your customers with quality products and services. Let your customers understand more about your products and services”, he advised.
Mr. Amanfu also admonished the managers of the Pan-African Savings and Loans to expand their services to areas that they have the expertise.
The Chief Operating Officer of Domestic Bank of Ecobank Group, Rotimi Nihinlola said: “At Ecobank we have abiding faith in Africa and its peoples. We are called the pan-African bank not only because of our unrivalled footprint covering 36 countries but also because of our uncommon focus on Africa”.
“We believe in its potentials and in line with a part of our vision we are committed to contributing to its development. This is our promise to Africa. This is our journey. A journey that began several years ago has already taken us to six African countries serving almost 2 million clients and helping to unleash the potentials of their micro-enterprises”.
Mr. Nihinlola stated that they serve markets such as Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique.
Pan-African Savings and Loans has been operating in Ghana for the past seven years as a registered Savings and Loans Company offering financial services to the country’s low-income, under-banked and un-banked population.
It offers savings and investment opportunities and serve as an outlet for remittance products such as Rapid Transfer, Western Union, Moneygram, MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money and Tigo Cash.
The company presently has branches located in the Greater Accra Region, Eastern, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and the Central regions. Its customers are able to use their ATM cards on all Ecobank and Gh-Link branded ATMs.
African Eye News.com
