Mr. Olivier Bailly Bechet, the CEO of Advans Ghana, has once again reiterated the company’s quest to remain a customer-centric financial institution.
He gave the highlight at a breakfast meeting with over 100 local entrepreneurs held at the Miklin Hotel in Kumasi.
In spite of the challenges faced by multiple financial institutions in the country, Advans Ghana positions itself as a reliable international financial partner to the SMEs, seeking to understand the challenges, priorities, plans and aspirations of this key sector of the economy that employs many Ghanaians.
The event was meant to give participants a listening ear to enhance the response by Advans with innovative and customer driven products and services.
The main objective of the meeting was to address specific requests and expectations of the SMEs who operate in the marketplaces and have to deal with multiple challenges linked to growing their business.
It was outlined that Advans had supported growth of over 4,100 SMEs in Ghana since 2012, by investing close to 300 million Ghana cedis in the sector.
Advans is poised to continue its active deployment of resources and funds into the SME businesses across the country and aims to do so with increased focus on customers and their specific needs.
Some of the questions raised by the participants and answers given by the hosts included:
• How is Advans performing in today’s uncertain banking environment? Advans Ghana is a member of a leading global microfinance network with presence in 9 countries across the globe and headquarters in Paris, France. Advans Ghana has recently published its audited financial statements for 2018 that shows strong net profit close to 6 million GHS. With solid loan portfolio quality and strong governance structures in place, Advans is well positioned to easily respond to the changing landscape of the financial sector in Ghana.
• How long does it take for a prospective client to be able to access financial solutions from Advans? Starting to bank with Advans is quite fast and simple, due to the fact that customers do not have to save with the institution prior to receiving a loan. Eligibility criteria of Advans are also quite lenient compared to competition and especially banks.
• What is the maximum loan size for a first-time customer of Advans? Advans is ready to receive applications for up to 1.4 millionGHS, even for the first-time customers of the institution.
Following a lively interactive Q&A session with the entrepreneurs, the CEO of Advans Ghana once again called the participants to remain confident in the strength of the institution and its plans to continue proactively addressing their needs. Participants were assured that the 11-year history of Advans in Ghana is a solid foundation for its continuous growth together with the Ghanaian SMEs.
Facts about Advans Ghana
Advans Ghana Savings and Loans is licensed by the Bank of Ghana and started its operations in October 2008.
Advans Ghana has since opened 19 branches in seven regions and serves more than 55,000 clients.
Advans Ghana is an affiliate of the Advans Group.
The Advans Group currently has nine affiliates in Africa and Asia serving more than 900,000 clients and employs 6,800 staff, with a gross loan portfolio of €900 million and a total of €430 million in savings and deposits.
The group’s shareholders are major international Development Finance Institutions: European Investment Bank (EIB), KFW, The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), CDC Group plc, FISEA [AgenceFrançaise de Dévelopement (AFD Group)] and International Finance Corporation (IFC). Advans Ghana’s shareholders are Advans SA, International Finance Corporation (IFC), KFW and Société Générale Ghana.