Letshego Bank Tanzania Limited, commonly known as Letshego Bank is a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, licensed by Bank of Tanzania, the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

and national banking regulator.

Overview

Letshego Bank Tanzania is a commercial bank regulated by the Bank of Tanzania. Its social mission is to provide suitable and sustainable

financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...

to micro, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurs, and to low and medium income employees. It operates as a microfinance bank. , the shareholders equity was valued at about TSh 11.4 billion (US$6.5 million or €5.2 million). At that time, customer deposits totalled approximately TSh 3.9 billion (US$2.23 million or €1.8 million). It is estimated that the bank's total assets in March 2014 totaled TSh 15.3 billion (US$8.7 million or €7 million).

History

The bank, then known as Advans Bank Tanzania received a commercial banking license from the Bank of Tanzania in May 2010. In February 2011, the bank opened its first branch in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

, the commercial capital city of Tanzania, and the largest city in that

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

n country. Opening with a staff of eighteen, the bank planned to open more branches in Dar es Salaam and other areas of the country.

Ownership

The institution opened in 2011 as Advans Bank Tanzania, a joint venture betwee
Advans SA
a

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

firm registered in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

as majority shareholder (70 percent), and

Netherlands Development Finance Company FMO ( nl, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V.) is a Dutch development bank structured as a bilateral private-sector international financial institution based in the Hague, the Netherlands. FMO manages funds for the ...

(FMO) (30 per cent). Advans SA aims to establish

microfinance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

financial institutions in emerging economies. Founded in 2005, Advans SA owns microfinance institutions in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, and

. , Advans SA had invested in excess of US$76 million (€55 million) in the countries where they operate. In November 2015,

Letshego Holdings Limited Letshego Holdings Limited is a microfinance holding company with its headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana and is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE). Letshego is a Setswana word meaning “Support”. Overview Letshego Holdings Limite ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

acquired 75 per cent in the bank by investing US$7 million in new shares. The table below depicts the shareholding within Letshego Bank Tanzania, as of November 2015.

Branch network

Letshego Bank maintains a network of branches at the following locations: # Manzese Branch - 93 Morogoro Road, Manzese Darajani,

(Main Branch) # Kariakoo Branch - Kariakoo Street at Lumumba Street,

Kariakoo Kariakoo is a ward in the Ilala District of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It has a population of 9,405 (2002). The name derives from a corruption of the British " Carrier Corps", that used to be based in this area. Today, Kariakoo is mainly known for ...

# Temeke Branch - Opposite Temeke Primary Court, Temeke,

# Mwanza Branch - Lumumba Road, Opposite Mayi Hotel, Mwanza #Mbeya Branch - Soweto, Former Royal Zambezi, Mbeya.

Governance

The

Acting Chief Executive Officer Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad ran ...

of the bank is Andrew Charles Tarimo.

References

External links

Website of Letshego Bank Tanzania

{{Economy of Tanzania Banks of Tanzania Economy of Dar es Salaam Banks established in 2011 2011 establishments in Tanzania