Ecobankhas launched the Ecobank Mobile App, an instant and convenient way of banking via the mobile phone. It is the first unified app delivered by any institution for use in 33 countries. Group CEO, Ade Ayeyemi unveiled the new App at a large product launch in Lagos, which brought together a wide range of customers, including students, various professionals, traders and transporters.

Ecobank board members, shareholders, staff and media were also present at the event.

The Ecobank Mobile App uniquely leverages the power of digital to deliver real convenience to customers. The App gives Ecobank the scale and capacity to achieve its target of attaining 100 million customers in a profitable and sustainable way.

The new App enables customers to open a new digital account with no more than a few clicks, with no paper references.

Ade Ayeyemi said: “The Ecobank Mobile App opens up opportunities for customers by allowing them to shop, transact and do business without cash. At scale, this will be transformational for Africa. Through its purchasing power and Ecobank’s partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, the Ecobank Mobile App will be an accepted means of payment. With its removal of barriers to entry and affordable price points, the Ecobank Mobile App will empower the consumer to be on the move.”

Ecobank’s Group Executive for Consumer Banking, Patrick Akinwuntan, said: “This product launch fulfils our promise to create relevant solutions for consumers. With the Ecobank Mobile App, Ecobank customers can now make and receive instant payments across 33 African countries on their mobile devices. They can also pay in store with their mobile phones. This is genuine convenience delivered to our consumers.”

At the launch, Mr. Akinwuntan demonstrated how to make a payment, how to send funds, and how to receive money from merchants using EcobankMasterpass QR technology. He also showed that opening an XpressAccount was an instant and easy transaction.

Ecobank Nigeria’s Managing Director, Charles Kié, said: “Nigeria is a leading hub for entrepreneurship and technology for Ecobank. This is why we chose Lagos as the venue to launch the Ecobank Mobile App. This new product will allow customers in Nigeria and other affiliates across our vast network, to grow their businesses by giving them a convenient and secure way of banking.”

The innovative new platform reduces the need to carry cash. It gives customers the opportunity to deposit money through a mobile transfer.

The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $20-million equity investment in Rx Healthcare Fund (RxHF) to help improve healthcare delivery across the continent.

RxHF aims to address growing demands for adequate high-quality healthcare services in several countries of North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which are respectively faced with distinctive set of challenges.

The Fund will provide growth capital to the companies which show high potential for growth in diagnostics, hospitals and pharmaceutical. The investments will be made in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco and then scaled up into Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Sudan with substantial transfer of lessons learnt and latest healthcare technology.

Africa is hampered by the widening healthcare delivery gap that is characterized by insufficient healthcare infrastructure, workforce shortages and low insurance coverage in the face of a disproportionate disease burden.

The region’s high level of disease, combined with its growing population base and changing lifestyle calls for a long-term improvement of healthcare system and significant participation of private healthcare providers.

On the other hand, Africa’s rising middle class is expected to reach 50% of the continent’s population by 2020, underpinned by robust macro fundamentals and continuing progress towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, providing a boost to the healthcare market.

The target client of the RxHF is the middle-income class that needs specialised high quality, but affordable healthcare service within Africa to benefit from the Fund’s investments geared towards mid-size healthcare facilities.

The healthcare-focused private equity (PE) funds in Africa with the capability to build an integrated healthcare eco-system across healthcare facilities, service providers and equipment are very limited. The Rx Healthcare Fund management team will tap into the EFG Hermes Private Equity teams’ combined 110 years of private equity management experience and the operation team’s over 70 years of knowledge as well as network in healthcare industry.

The Bank’s participation in this Fund will help advance the agenda of the Bank’s High 5 priority areas – in particular, “Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa” – through creation of affordable high-quality healthcare infrastructure.

By enforcing social infrastructure, and providing equity capital catalyzing for additional resources for private sector development, the project is also in sync with the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy (2013-2022), Human Capital Strategy as well as Private Sector Strategy.

The Fund targets final capitalisation of $200 million. The Bank will be the first Africa-based institution to participate with an equity investment of US $20 million, which will support unlocking African capital and catalyze financing of other development finance institutions (DFIs) and commercial investors.

As an Advisory Board member, the Bank will ensure that transparency, social and environmental, and corporate governance best practices are adhered to both at the Fund and the portfolio company level.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved an eight-year $40-million corporate loan to the AfeBabalola University (ABUAD) in Ado Ekiti (Nigeria), to finance part of the university’s expansion plan.

The project will make ABUAD a centre of excellence for tertiary education in Africa, expanding access to high-quality education to over 10,000 students per year.

Nigeria is home to 138 universities of which 59 are private. In 2014, only 30% of eligible high school applicants gained admission to universities. The capacity constraints prevent more than one million young people from gaining admission to a tertiary institution in Nigeria each year.

At the same time, the quality of the curriculum offered by most of the universities in Nigeria has not been producing market-ready graduates, as over 75% of Nigerian young graduates are not fully employed.

“Education is one of the booming private sector engagements in Africa at this time. The Bank’s support to the sector will help leverage quality education, especially in science and technology,” said Senior Vice-President FrannieLéautier. The Bank will be exploring other avenues and scholarships in support of education in the disciplines critical to Africa’s development, she added.

ABUAD was established in 2010 as a private non-for-profit company. It is composed of five colleges for undergraduates (engineering, law, medicine and health science, science, and social and management sciences), and a postgraduate school.

All academic programs have been fully accredited by the National Universities Commission and relevant professional bodies. The innovative and market-driven curriculum offered by ABUAD as well as established partnerships with multiple international academic and industrial institutions have led to exponential student growth since ABUAD’s inception, with over 6,500 students currently enrolled.

The expansion plan consists of construction of new facilities – including a 400-bed teaching hospital, an industrial research park, and a small hydro power (SHP) installation (1.1 MW), and capacity strengthening of ABUAD’s administrative and governance structures.

Beyond doubling ABUAD’s current student capacity, the project will create 250 new staff positions, as well as about 1,000 temporary jobs across the construction, supplies and consulting in the value chain. Full/ partial scholarships and other forms of substantial financial aid will be provided to over 500 students beneficiaries during the life of the loan.

The project thoroughly supports the rolling out of the High 5s of the Bank by contributing to improve the quality of life for the people of Africa through high-quality tertiary education, job creation and health service provision; to galvanise the interest of entrepreneurs to establish SME industries in the Ekiti State through the ABUAD industrial research park; to power Africa through its off-grid renewable SHP scheme; and feeding Africa through its support to local farming businesses.

The project, approved by the AfDB Board on October 19, 2016, is the Bank’s first private-sector transaction in the education sector and is therefore a pioneering project.

With emphasis on entrepreneurial and leadership skills, ABUAD is expected to generate over 12,000 high-quality and employable graduates by the end of the loan life, in addition to over 2,400 trained farmers who will benefit from the university’s farmers training programs.

The Bank’s financing will help the university realize its ambitious vision to double its student capacity by 2025, while having strong demonstration effect for the development of the tertiary education sector in Africa.

Access Bank Ghana wants to raise funds to support expansion projects.

“We are seeking to expand our operations by making new investments in branch expansion, robust technology and other infrastructure,” said DolapoOgundimu, Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana.

For the 2015 fiscal year ended in September, the bank cumulated a net profit of 80 million Ghana cedis ($20 million). However, this net profit does not translate into an equivalent increase of the treasury. Between January and December 2015, surplus in treasury stood at 41 million cedis, against more than 250 million cedis in 2014.

The firm will raise the funds it needs by offering 19% of its capital which could be 32% in case the demand exceeds supply. Investors have until November 11 to subscribe to the operation.

Overall, Access Bank Ghana hopes to raise 142 million cedis.

After the IPO, the bank should list on the Ghana Stock Exchange, thus joining groups such as Ghana Commercial Bank, Société Générale Ghana, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, and Ecobank Ghana and Holding.

—Idriss Linge