Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has entered into a partnership with Indian private sector bank ICICI Bank in an attempt to establish itself as a gateway for Indian investment into Africa
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by both parties to seal the pact recently. The agreement will involve both parties collaborating to extend banking services across their combined footprint in India and Africa.
India’s minister of state for external affairs, Preneet Kaur, had revealed in March that in 2011-12 exports from Africa to India stood at US$43bn, and imports from India stood at US$23bn.
Speaking on the partnership, ETI CEO Thierry Tanoh affirmed that the MoU signed with ICICI was similar to the one the lender had with South Africa’s Nedbank, which had helped it gain better access to markets in southern Africa.
Tanoh said, “What we are trying to do is become the partner of choice when it comes to dealing with sub-Saharan Africa.
“The idea is to attract developing country investors to go through our bank, in order to do business in sub-Saharan Africa.”
On his part, ICICI Bank president of international banking group Vijay Chandok said, “This MoU will allow ICICI Bank and Ecobank to leverage our combined expertise, strong local knowledge and corporate relationships to support Indo-African businesses.”
Meanwhile, Tanoh revealed that the bank hoped to increase in deposit and revenue growth in 2013 by 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
