FDH Bank touts financial inclusion efforts

Malawi still lags behind its neighbours in terms of financial inclusion, with a big chunk of the country’s population remaining unbanked.

A 2014 Finscope Survey shows that the population accessing banking services has jumped by 14 percent within five years to 54 percent from 45 percent in 2008.

Traditionally, financial inclusion has principally been based on the concept of expanding banks’ and non-banking financial institutions’ footprints through brick and mortar, key being the spread of presence beyond major cities where financial institutions are mainly concentrated.

FDH Bank, a subsidiary of financial services group FDH Financial Holdings Limited, has taken on the challenge of bridging these gaps, according to the bank’s managing director Phillip Madinga.

“Being a bank that only came into being in 2008, considerable progress has been made in helping in the fight to include as many Malawians as possible in the challenge of developing this country through a meaningful impact on its economic affairs,” he said in an interview.

Madinga said within six years, the bank has managed to open 13 points of representation nationwide, averaging over two outlets per year.

He said the bank realises that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the lifeblood of any growing economy and that a significant portion of their customer base belongs to this sector.

“However, it has been clear for a long time that this sector faces a lot of challenges that have impeded their capacity to expand further and evolve into large businesses with time.

“The failure rate of businesses has been quite staggering because of such problems,” said Madinga.

In response to include SMEs, FDH Bank introduced SMEs Clinics, which the bank offers, at no cost to its clients, where participants are drilled on sound business management and financial principles.

“FDH Bank is the first and only bank to have dedicated SMEs suites in the country. These were introduced in some of its branches during 2014. Old Town and City Centre Branch have brand new suites that have just been completed in December 2014 and will be opening doors to customers soon, similarly the bank’s brand new Nchalo Branch also comes with a fully equipped SMEs suite,” he said.

The bank, according to Madinga, is supporting artisanal and small scale mining sector, as part of its contribution to ensuring that financial inclusion is extended to this sector.

This year, the bank has pledged to sponsor a select group of miners, including women miners to an international mining indaba where they can learn some skills from their counterparts.

Towards the end of last year, the bank partnered with Airtel Malawi to come up with a new service, based on the Airtel Money offering.

“This is an offering that will change the way banking is done and perceived. FDH Bank’s offering is unique compared to other similar services on the market.

“FDH e-Money enables an FDH Bank customer, who is on the Airtel Money platform, to link their account to the mobile platform,” he said, stressing that the service is a giant leap in expanding financial inclusion as it enables individuals living in areas where the bank does not have a presence to still open an account with their nearest branch.

“The achievement of full financial inclusion is the ultimate goal for our country growth,” explained Madinga.