Mali is United Bank for Africa’s next quest as the pan-African bank prepares to open a new branch in the West African country next month.
UBA has set February 4 as the date for commencing its operations in Mali, which would further deepen its operation frontiers across Africa.
In a telephone interview with Reuters, spokeswoman for UBA’s Malian subsidiary explained that Mali offers the bank opportunity for growth.
“Mali is a large market with a low (bank) account penetration rate,” El Oumarany said. “We’re hoping to do better than the 13 banks already established in the country.”
El Oumarany added that UBA’s strategy in Mali, a landlocked country on the edge of the Sahara, was focused on digital products that clients could access from their smartphones.
UBA, one of Nigeria’s largest banks with more 700 branches, has subsidiaries across Africa in countries such as Ghana and Ivory Coast in the west, Kenya and Uganda in the east, and Mozambique and Zambia in the south. It also has offices in London, Paris and New York.
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