to quadruple the number of its agents to
approximately 2,000 over the next two years.
Combining this agency network with its
physical presence and digital capabilities, the
bank has been able to spearhead the spread
of microfinancing services, particular through
Tanzania’s thousands of outlying villages and
rural communities. This has dovetailed neatly
with CRDB’s portfolio of business units that are
specifically designed to support critical segments of
Tanzania’s agriculture industry. These units employ
a network of agribusiness relationship managers
who are on hand to give advice on anything from
farming and agro-processing to commodity trading,
farming machinery and livestock.
CRDB has helped boost Tanzania’s economic
standing on the world stage and in the process
increased its own attractiveness as an investment
stock. Even though earnings per share have
already more than doubled over the past five
years, Nsekela is convinced there is considerable
potential for further growth. “Our shares are trading
at around a quarter of where they could or should
be,” he says. “Tanzania has a population of 60
million and only about 20% of them have bank
accounts. Banking is almost virgin territory here.”
T
he caliber of the country’s financial
leadership is also helping boost investor
interest, and Abdulmajid Nsekela, CEO
of the CRDB Bank, is a shining example of that
leadership. In the wake of his bank’s success in
delivering a strong balance sheet, Nsekela was
named one of the most reputable senior banking
executives in Africa for 2021 by Reputation Poll
International, joining a number of other African
bank CEOs who beat the COVID-19 pandemic to
perform well.
“We recovered in areas that had exhibited
weakness in the course of the year, thanks to
an adaptive strategy and timely interventions,”
says Nsekela. “We gave many of our customers
loan repayment moratoriums and used the
lockdown as the ideal opportunity to accelerate
our digital transformation. But what gave me most
satisfaction was that not even one of our SME
clients went out of business.”
Nsekela was appointed in 2018, a year before
the UN’s Green Climate Fund accredited CRDB as
its financial intermediary for the implementation
of green financing in Tanzania. The accreditation
makes the bank responsible for developing
funding proposals and for managing projects and
programs.
“We want to take an active role in supporting
development programs in our country,” says
Nsekela. “We are particularly keen to support
the government initiatives in energy, transport
and infrastructure, industrialization, health
and wellness, food security, safe cities and
environment. We are the only bank in the country
that can secure project finance up to $250
million.”
Since its accreditation, the bank has actively
promoted foreign investment in the country and
recently hosted a networking trip to China for more
than 100 Tanzanian businessmen and financiers.
Established in 1996, CRDB was listed on the
Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange in 2009. Over the
past 25 years, the bank has established itself as
one of Africa’s superbrands and, with one of the
strongest IT teams in the Tanzanian banking sector,
it is a key contributor to the government’s initiative
to digitally streamline Tanzania’s economy.
“We are proud of the part we have played in
creating one of the most robust mobile banking
systems in Africa,” says Nsekela, “particularly in
the B2B payment arena.” In addition to providing
clients with standard internet banking, CRDB
offers business and retail customers access to
bulk payment and both multi- and cross-currency
fund transfers using approved or negotiated
rates. In keeping with a company culture of
ongoing technological development, CRDB this
year expects to develop three new data centers
and to introduce new system architecture that
will enhance overall scalability and foster digital
adoption.
With a network of 260 branches, over 550
ATMs, 12 mobile branches and nearly 1,120
point-of-sale (POS) terminals strategically
located around the country, CRDB has one of
the largest bricks-and-mortar presences in the
country – which it is using to ensure that the
technological revolution is both sustainable
and nationwide. In 2013, CRDB was the
first of Tanzania’s financial institutions to offer
agency banking services, and it is now looking
CRDB BANK – Supporting Tanzania’s Growth
Tanzania: The Fresh Face of Africa
Tanzania is one of Africa’s top 10 investment destinations,
with state expenditure in the key sectors of energy,
telecommunications, finance and tourism having turned it into
one of the continent’s fastest growing economies.
Abdulmajid Nsekela
Group CEO & Managing Director of CRDB Bank.
CONTENT FROM THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR
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