AZANIA Bank limited has called on Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) and youths in the country to fully exploit services and products currently offered by the bank to boost their business ventures and better their livelihoods.
The Bank’s Managing Director, Mr Charles
Itembe said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Azania Bank has positioned
itself in transforming SMEs’ traditional way of running their
businesses. “We believe that our support to SMEs and youths will have
greater impacts for them and the nation as a whole,” Mr Itembe
explained.
He said his bank has been working
closely with microborrowers, SMEs and petty traders for their growth and
development. “As a commercial bank, we have committed to see SMEs and
youths benefiting from our unique services and improved products to grow
and consequently contribute to the country’s economic growth,” Mr
Itembe said.
He said the bank’s support to SMEs and
youths goes hand in hand with its commitment towards supporting the
fifth phase government’s target of transforming Tanzania into the middle
income country by 2025 through various measures, including
industrialisation drive.
He said SMEs and youths were better
placed to contrib ute significantly to the building of industrial base
economy “that is why Azania Bank supports them with lenient conditions
compared to other commercial banks.”
“We have 17 branches scattered
countrywide. Among the branches six are in the Lake zone, three in
northern zone, five in eastern zone while one in Songwe Region,” Mr
Itembe said, noting that next year the bank will open new branches in
Morogoro and Dodoma regions.
According to Mr Itembe, efforts are
being made to ensure all the regions get their branches despite the fact
that all its customers are enjoying mobile and internet services
wherever they are in and outside the county.
“Our digital services operate throughout
24 hours. Our customers do not need to go to the branches because of
the technology,” he stressed. Azania Bank in collaboration with Social
Security Schemes have started implementing the President Magufuli’s
ambitious plan practically by investing in industries.
Social security funds are the main
shareholders of Azania Bank with 98 per cent of shares, East African
Development Bank holds 1.5 per cent of the shares and other 48 small
minority shareholders own only one per cent.
Current statistics have it that social security funds in the country have assets base worth over 9 trillion
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