“Our pan-African network provides a unique platform for payments, trade and investment in Africa and beyond”
Newly appointed General Manager of Ecobank Congo DRC, Alassane SORGO has over 25 years of experience in the financial sector. In 1999, he joined Ecobank’s headquarters as head of ETI operations after a stint at Ibanema Export. He has since served as Financial Controller for Togo and Côte d’Ivoire, and as Finance Director covering WAEMU countries before becoming Executive Assistant to the Regional Director in Dakar, Business Finance Manager to the Group’s Operations Director, Director of the Domestic Banking Market and Deputy Managing Director and then Managing Director of Ecobank Chad.
He holds a Master’s degree in Accounting and Financial Sciences and Techniques from the University of Abidjan and a Diploma of Higher Studies in Accounting and Finance from the Academy of Nice. His expertise enabled him to succeed Jean-Baptiste SIATE as Managing Director of Ecobank DRC.
What is your mission at Ecobank DRC?
As Managing Director of Ecobank DRC, my mission is to oversee the operations of the bank across the country and ensure that it operates in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. This includes managing the bank’s finances, the Ecobank brand, maintaining relationships with customers and stakeholders, as well as leading the bank’s employees to provide high quality service to customers.
Thus, I consider that overall the goals and objectives of Ecobank DRC are similar to any conventional bank operating in the DRC, such as expanding its customer base, increasing profits or introducing new products and services.
To this, I want to add missions that are specific to Ecobank DRC:
– Use the skills to ensure that we provide a unique experience to our customers in every interaction with us, whether in branches, on our digital platforms or other Ecobank point.
– Ensure efficient use of capital across the DRC branch to generate returns in a safe, prosperous and compliant environment. In this highly regulated sector, my supervisory role as Managing Director is to provide the bank with assurance of regulatory compliance;
– Promote the development of financial instruments that contribute to private sector financing and to the economic, financial and social development of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Together with my staff, we are working to achieve these objectives while ensuring that the bank operates in a safe and sustainable manner.
What is the history of the group, and it’s positioning as a banking institution in the DRC?
Ecobank Group is a pan-African banking institution that was founded by Africans in 1985 in Togo, West Africa. The bank has since grown to become one of the largest and most important financial institutions on the continent, with an unparalleled presence in 35 sub-Saharan African countries.
At Ecobank, we are committed to our mission of contributing to Africa’s economic development and financial integration. We leverage our deep knowledge of Africa and our financial expertise to serve our clients. Our pan-African network provides a unique platform for payments, trade and investment in Africa and beyond.
Since 2008 when the Ecobank DRC subsidiary was established, we have been leveraging the strength of our pan-African group to apply our local expertise and market knowledge to provide tailor-made banking solutions to our clients and provide the necessary support to accompany our clients on a daily basis to create value, wealth and jobs together and contribute to the socio-economic development of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We are today an important player in the banking sector, and we will continue to increase our contribution to the national economy.
What is your vision for the bank and its development in 2023?
My vision for the bank and its development in 2023 revolves around these different axes:
– Improving digital capabilities to meet the growing demand for online and mobile banking. This includes launching new digital products and upgrading existing digital platforms;
– Improving the customer experience by enhancing the quality of our customer service, streamlining processes and reducing waiting times;
– Increasing financial inclusion of underserved populations, especially women with our ELLEVER program designed specifically for them. Our goal at Ecobank DRC is to expand our offerings and services to reach all stakeholders in the country;
– Consolidate financial results in the country and build a sustainable institution to further support the national economy.
In a competitive banking sector, what are your assets and strengths in the DRC?
Our strengths lie, on the one hand, in our willingness to constantly encourage our staff to be closer to market trends, which allows us to adjust our strategy and bring added value to clients and stakeholders.
On the other hand, our investments in technology and digitalization allow our employees to work remotely, but also our customers to be autonomous and enjoy our banking services securely whenever they need them, from their office, home or elsewhere.
As a pioneer in the digitization of banking services, our strategy allows us to be flexible enough to react to changing circumstances. Our ability to adapt to unpredictable events is one of the keys to our success. The dynamism of Ecobank DRC is therefore based on :
– Our ability to anticipate our clients’ expectations by proposing an innovative and differentiating offer;
– Our ability to develop secure digital platforms for our clients, which give them continuous access to our services, as was the case during the containment. Not to mention the financial solutions we offer to Fintech companies via our Sandbox, which we are the only ones to have on the Congolese market.
– Our governance, both demanding and rigorous, which allows us to control risks in accordance with international standards and to meet the expectations of our stakeholders;
– Our role as a systemically important bank that strengthens local skills and promotes the country’s economic development.
– The coaching we provide to entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs and women-centered businesses through the Ellever by Ecobank program, to equip them with the tools and skills to effectively run their businesses and empower their communities.
This pan-African initiative aims, in addition to strengthening financing for women, to follow them on a non-financial track focused on training, coaching, standardization, formalization, and market access, through digital tools.
What is your position, and what are your ambitions for the mining sector in the DRC?
At Ecobank DRC, we position ourselves as an innovative bank that offers products and services that are adapted to the main players in the sector in the country. We operate in a country whose mining resources are strategic to the growth of many areas. Thus, the mining sector is today a major contributor to the economic development of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We therefore wish to be the key bank accompanying the actors of the sector who identify our expertise as an added value in their development strategies. Our knowledge of the mining industry allows us to respond to the challenges and opportunities faced by mining companies.
Through our specific offerings of equipment loans, working capital financing, foreign exchange transactions, analysis of mining market trends and cash management services, we are truly committed to the success of the mining sector and its value chain in the DRC.
We aim to have a 360° impact on our clients’ businesses and we also provide offerings that aim to :
– Providing investment banking services to mining companies, including mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and strategic advice ;
– Helping mining companies manage the risks associated with currency fluctuations, commodity price volatility and political instability using hedging products and other risk management tools;
– Providing project financing to mining companies for the construction, expansion or modernization of mining projects. This may include financing equipment purchases or construction costs.
– To provide a tailored offering that meets the needs of those in the value chain.
Overall, we offer a range of banking services to companies in the mining sector and take care to anticipate their specific needs and requirements.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ecobank Group is a pan-African banking institution founded by Africans in 1985 in Togo, West Africa.
Our expertise is an added value in the development strategies of our mining clients
One of the keys to our success is our ability to adapt to all circumstances