(Photo Caption) Matt Doley, Founder, Connected Thinking; Ms. Emelia Atta-Fynn, MD/CEO, Pan-African Savings & Loans Ghana (member, Ecobank Group); Nihinlola Rotimi, Group Head, Microfinance & Financial Inclusion, Ecobank Group and Mr. Nixon Pesie, Head, E-Banking & Payments, Pan-African Savings & Loans Ghana, at the Asian Banker West Africa Country Awards where Pan-African Savings & Loans Ghana was awarded the Best microfinance product in Africa for 2017.

Ecobank Nigeria and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) microfinance banking subsidiary in Ghana, Pan-African Savings & Loans, have received remittance product of the year and the best microfinance product in Africa for 2017 awards respectively at The Asian Banker’s International Excellence in Retail Financial Service Awards ceremony held in Lagos last week
According to the organisers, The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards is the undisputed performance benchmark of the best retail and technology practices in an increasingly fierce marketplace.
According to Nihinlola Rotimi, Group Head, Microfinance & Financial Inclusion of Ecobank Group, “these are latest of the several awards Ecobank Group has received in recognition of its continued commitment and leadership in financial inclusion – taking banking services to all Africans including the vast unbanked population.”
He noted that it also affirms Ecobank leading contributions to the use of landmark technology innovations and digital platforms for expanding banking frontiers.
“In 2016 Ecobank also received the award from the African Banker as the ‘best bank in Financial Inclusion in Africa,’ which was announced at the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meetings in Lusaka, Zambia,” he said.
Specifically, Nihinlola explained that the award winning microfinance product is a digital, paperless and full self-service offering which delivers un-paralleled convenience and unlimited 24/7 banking experience; all basic banking services including account opening, savings, loans and payments are delivered to customers entirely on their mobile phones.
He added that the innovative product which was the first of its kind in West and Central Africa was introduced into the Ghana market in 2016 and it is being deployed in various countries across the Ecobank foot-print in Africa.
Esther Obot, Head Remittance, Ecobank Nigeria, said the Ecobank Rapid Transfer product is an innovative money transfer services within Nigeria and across 33 countries in Africa where Ecobank operates. The service was conceived out of the need to provide convenient, accessible, and reliable money transfer service for its retail and wholesale customers and non-customers of the bank.
The Asian Banker provides information for the financial services industry in form of publications and online materials. It is regarded as one of the Asian region’s leading consultancies in financial services research, benchmarking and intelligence