Amenfiman Rural Bank is a second-time recipient of the prestigious award since its inception 35 years ago.

The Bank won the award after being nominated from among over 144 rural banks in Ghana.

The 2023 award event was under the theme “Harnessing the Power of AI as a Transformative Tool for Marketers”, reflecting the current global trends, and the ways businesses are embracing emerging technologies.

The ceremony sought to recognize individuals and organisations for their marketing excellence and innovations in the marketing field.

In a citation presented to the Bank, it acknowledged that Amenfiman Rural Bank is poised to be a facility that delivers high quality financial services by leveraging top-tier talent and state-of-the-art technology to meet and exceed customer expectations.

This according to the citation is a feat “the Bank has delivered seamlessly by generating enduring value for all stakeholders thus becoming the unequivocal choice for rural banking in Ghana”.

It further stated that: “communities and educational institutions are overawed by the Bank’s show of philanthropism, which has seen fishing communities being given some financial aid as well as some schools also witnessing some funding to upgrade and put-up infrastructure to alternate their housing challenges”.

Notably, twenty private schools have been supported with funds towards their ICT blocks and ten others assisted to secure transportation for their institutions.

“No wonder the school projects have given you a portfolio of GH₵ 2.8million with 180 accounts for schools and their teachers being secured, and the coastal projects also commanding a portfolio of approximately GH₵14million. Amenfiman Rural Bank’s CSR programmes remain matchless and keep touching and changing lives,” the citation added
Receiving the award on behalf of the bank, Board Chairperson, Dr. Toni Aubynn acknowledged the unique role the bank’s board and management as well as the entire staff played, in achieving the remarkable feat.

The groundbreaking initiative comes as the bank records an unprecedented total deposit of a little over GH₵1 billion as of the end of June 2024 as well as other financial support programs from the government.

Under its “AMERB Donkomi Promo”, the rural bank is targeting investments into over 2,500 local women and youth-led businesses as part of activities streamlined for economic recovery.

After closing 2023 with a customer deposit of 780 million cedis, the Amenfiman Rural Bank at the beginning of this year set a 1-billion-cedi deposit target.

The bank focused on expanding its client base and provided support to augment business operations of clients.

The historic record represents an impressive growth of 70.03% from the same period in June 2023, from approximately GH₵631 million to a little over GH₵1 billion in June 2024.

Following the unprecedented growth, the bank is setting aside 500 million cedis through its Donkomi promo to provide financial support and investments to micro and small enterprises in the country.

Chief Executive of the Bank, Dr. Alexander Asmah explains the move aligns seamlessly with the Bank’s vision to empower the MSME sector, driving growth and aiding the recovery national economy.

“We don’t want to place so much emphasis in placing money in government securities because that itself doesn’t grow the economy, so we want to focus on the certain sectors of the economy that bring growth and those are the micro, small and medium enterprises,” he said.

The bank is also sourcing funds to empower businesses through the Ministry of Finance’s micro, small and medium enterprises growth and opportunity program and the Innovate and Grow Fund of the Development Bank Ghana for MSMEs.

Access to flexible and affordable credit facilities is a bane to many growing businesses.

Without the usual stringent collateral requirements and at exceptionally low interest rate of 2.5% monthly, many businesses especially women and youth-led ones, are expected to receive financial support to increase productivity and stay buoyant.

“Most people do not have collaterals when securing loans. This is a big constrain. We are trying to break that gap. To access these loans, they only need consistently work with us where we will spread their loan repayment over a period of time – daily. You only need to have at least 20% of the capital you need to invest in your business and the bank will provide the rest to support the business,” he said.

He continued that: “we are focusing on women and the youth because personally I believe that if a woman is empowered economically, there’s always peace at home. They are able to cater for their families. And this is crucial to us as a bank”.

Supporting businesses thrive in the current economic climate remains a priority to the bank as they restrategize to extend services to the unbanked and underbanked individuals and businesses.

Some customers of the bank shared how support from the bank has facilitated their profit gains to expand their business and recruit more workers.

“I was initially saving with another bank, but they couldn’t help me buy a shop to extend my business. I told a worker of Amenfiman bank that if they able to help me secure the shop, I will sac and work with the bank. Lo and behold, they bought it for me and now I have been able to recruit more workers for my business,” a client said.

This represents an impressive growth of 70.03% from the same period in June 2023, from approximately GH₵ 631 million to a little over GH₵ 1 billion in June 2024.

Amenfiman Rural Bank as a financial institution recognizes the importance of deposits in growing its books. Basically, fuelled by deposits and shareholders’ funds, the Bank is able to grow its investments, loans, and liquidity which is required to serve clients on a daily basis.

With the growth of investments and loans, the Bank is able to generate income to operate, return to its shareholders, and shore up as retained earnings. In effect, the Bank’s income generating potential is expected to be increased significantly which would influence the Return on Equity and Return on Asset indicators.

The CEO of the Bank, Dr Alex Asmah, tells Luv Fm, this significant and remarkable achievement is the highest so far recorded in the history of rural banking in Ghana.

According to him, Amenfiman Rural Bank PLC for the last ten years has had a mission to drive financial inclusion in its communities, serving the unbanked and the underbanked population of the market with emphasis on MSME by giving them easy, convenient and cost-effective access to financial products using the appropriate technology and quality staff while creating value for shareholders.

This mission, he emphasised, fed a vision to consolidate and sustain the Bank’s leadership in rural banking in Ghana and to become a point of reference in the industry as well as aspiring to be the most tech savvy and customer-friendly rural bank in Ghana.

With the Board and Management of the Bank drawing references from this vision and mission, the Bank goes the extra mile to ensure that customer needs are met, ensure competitive rates on deposit and loan products with products tailored to meet the needs of customers as well as research and development of existing products and services. 

Competitive Strategy

Other areas of competitive strategy adopted by the Board to realise the bank’s mission is collaborating and partnering with other financial service providers, convenience and improved accessibility to the Bank’s products and services and deployment of nontraditional banking services such as Bancassurance, Asset-financing among others.

In the last 4 years of the Bank’s operations, the Amenfiman Rural Bank has deployed a network of ATMs to offer 24/7 access to cash by its clients and the general public via the GH-Link switch. The drive to improve customer convenience has continued with the deployment of the GhanaPay service, USSD mobile banking service and the mobile susu service.

The Bank has also deployed multiple life and general insurance products to its clients which has thus far been very beneficial to multiple people and businesses within its catchment.

The CEO, further emphasises that, leadership has been a key factor however in the face of this growth there has been multiple challenges from the macroeconomic front such as the financial sector clean up, the DDEP among other macroeconomic challenges.

In spite of all these challenges, the Board and Management of Amenfiman Rural Bank PLC work closely in ensuring that the Bank is positioned favourable to meet and excel in the midst of operational challenges.

By defying the odds to achieve these remarkable accomplishments, the leadership, especially the Chief Executive officer of the Bank has been recognized on multiple levels for his contribution to the business of the Bank and the industry as a whole.

Local authorities, businesses, regulators, and other stakeholders have also recognised the contributions of Amenfiman Rural Bank PLC and this has also expanded the reach of the Bank’s brand and loyalty.

Expanded financial support

From the Western to the Western North, Central, and Ashanti regions of the country, the brand is basically a house hold name when it comes to dependable and quality financial support services.

With its head office located at Wasa Akropong, in the Wasa Amenfi East Municipality in the Western Region, Amenfiman Rural Bank PLC’s strategy is fundamentally rooted in fostering deep customer loyalty, with an unwavering commitment to delivering unparalleled customer experiences at every interaction.

“Our remarkable growth stems from the unwavering support of our loyal clientele, who not only choose us repeatedly for their banking needs but also passionately share their positive experiences and advocate for our products to potential new clients. This approach is not just effective; it is enduring and consistently yields exceptional results,” Dr Asmah stressed.

He has also emphasised that the Bank continues to invest in its communities and the people, and such CSR activities has also uplifted the goodwill of people for the Bank.

Today, people within the Bank’s operational territories easily refer to Amenfiman Rural Bank as the benchmark for safe deposits, flexible loans, rewarding investments and other financial services such as insurance.

Empowering MSME Sector

Early this year, Amenfiman Rural Bank PLC launched a groundbreaking initiative to offer loans up to GH¢400,000 to micro and small businesses, without the usual stringent collateral requirements and at exceptionally low interest rates.

This bold move aligns seamlessly with the Bank’s vision to empower the MSME sector, driving growth and aiding the recovery of Ghana’s national economy.

The CEO in his concluding remarks stated emphatically that the Board, Management and staff have been critical to the growth seen over the period and it is important that the level of quality, commitment and dedication is maintained into the future to ensure the Bank maintains its enviable position within the market.

Customers and their deposits, according to Dr Asmah would still remain as the life blood of the Bank and the Bank would continue to prioritize customer focus and service improvement in maintaining the trust and confidence of the Amenfiman brand.

The Rural banking industry has improved greatly over the last 10 years and it is envisioned that this would continue into the future, management of the Bank would continue to grow all areas of the business strategically to ensure that the Bank remains competitive and prosperous.

As the Bank has achieved a billion cedis in deposits, this would reflect directly on the volumes that the Bank would deploy towards supports for individuals, businesses and industry in Ghana.

Growth and performance of Amenfiman Rural Bank between June 2023 & June 2024