KAMPALA/UGANDA: The Reserve Bank of Malawi last week awarded a license to the Centenary Group of Uganda and the Catholic Church Archdiocese of Lilongwe to carry out banking operations in Malawi.
The name of the new bank is Centenary Bank Limited, with Centenary Group holding majority shareholding and the Catholic Church Archdiocese of Lilongwe holding minority shareholding of the Bank’s shares.
According to a press release from the Centenary Bank Group in Uganda, the new bank in Malawi will be launched on 22nd March 2023 in Lilongwe.
Centenary Group owns Centenary Rural Development Bank; the Bank with the largest customer base in Uganda.
Centenary Bank has over 2.6 million customers including 12,000 SACCOS and over 46,000 Village Saving & Lending Associations (VSLA) based in rural areas. The Bank has an extensive branch network of 80 branches covering all regions of Uganda supported by 204 Automated Teller Machines and over 6,800 Bank agents country wide making the largest footprint in the country.
The Group also owns Centenary Technology Services Limited (Cente-Tech), the Group technology company, with a combined professional ICT experience of over 90 years. As the group technology company, Centenary Technology Services provides technical leadership to the group subsidiaries to enable them to grow and provide meaningful services to the rural poor.
Another company owned by Centenary Group is known as Centenary Foundation. The Foundation works with social investors and partners with a common social development purpose as Centenary Group and focuses on implementing programs that improve the social welfare of its beneficiaries. The Foundation’s focus areas are Education, Environment, Financial Literacy, Health, and the Social Mission of the Catholic Church.
What this new venture means:
The launch of a new bank by Centenary Group in Malawi indicates the group’s expansion strategy into new markets outside of Uganda.
It is a significant step towards the group’s vision of becoming a leading financial institution in the Eastern Africa region and beyond.
By launching a new bank in Malawi, Centenary Group is leveraging its experience and success in the banking industry in Uganda to tap into new markets and opportunities.
The new bank is expected to provide a range of financial products and services to customers in Malawi, including savings accounts, loans, and insurance products. Furthermore, the launch of a new bank in Malawi is likely to have a positive impact on the country’s economy.
Malawian Economy:
The Malawian economy is classified by the World Bank as a least developed country with a nominal GDP of approximately $7.6 billion USD and a population of around 19 million people.
Malawi’s economy heavily relies on agriculture, with over 80% of the population engaged in smallholder farming. The main crops grown are tobacco, tea, sugarcane, cotton, and maize. In recent years, Malawi has made efforts to diversify its economy and develop its tourism and manufacturing sectors, but progress has been slow.
In a sense, Centenary Bank Group’s massive venture into an agrarian economy like Malawi means that it will increase competition in the banking sector, which could result in lower interest rates, improved services, and better access to credit for individuals and businesses.
The move also signifies the group’s confidence in the Malawi market and its potential for growth. Malawi is a country with a population of over 19 million people and a growing economy. By expanding into this market, Centenary Group is positioning itself to capture a share of this growing market and build a strong presence in the country.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe:
The Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe is a Roman Catholic diocese located in Lilongwe.It covers seven districts of Malawi’s Central Region. It has seven ecclesiastical deaneries, 46 parishes, and 620 outstations. Currently, the Archdiocese of Lilongwe is under the leadership of Archbishop George Desmond Tambala.
The Archdiocese owns several institutions in Malawi, including education institutions, hospitals, and companies, in addition to owning several commercial properties within Lilongwe and surrounding districts. It has total assets of over USD. 30million.
The Archdiocese also runs several community and social justice projects for the benefit of Malawi’s most marginalized people.
The unique combination of the Bank’s new shareholders will enable the Bank to deliver on its financial inclusion agenda and reach out to all the unbanked people across the country to change their lives thereby contributing to the achievement of the Malawi Government Agenda 2063.
Commenting following the award of the Bank license, Centenary Group Chairperson Prof John Ddumba-Ssentamu said;
“We are excited that we have been granted a license to commence banking operations. We thank the Reserve Bank of Malawi for all the support it has extended to us.”
He promised that Centenary Bank will from the onset adopt an agile approach to operations, scaling customer-eccentric propositions that will allow the Bank to create highly personalized solutions and regain its position within the Malawi market.
The expansion of the Centenary brand beyond the borders of East Africa is the first of its kind in Uganda’s history and speaks to the growth of the financial services provision expertise of the Centenary Group.
“Centenary Group is committed to ensuring equitable and accessible financial and digital services to all citizens across the nation of Malawi,” Ddumba added.