(Agence Ecofin) – AFG is entering a market where well-known African competitors are already present, and where growth opportunities go hand in hand with a dynamic of change in a sector that must strengthen.
Ivorian businessman Koné Dossongui officially inaugurated AFG Bank Madagascar on Friday June 21, 2024, the recent banking subsidiary of the Atlantic Finance Holding (AFG) financial group, of which he is the founder and influential member of the board. of administration. The ceremony took place on the sidelines of the Madagascar International Tourism Fair, in the presence of the Malagasy Minister of Finance and other personalities.
AFG Bank Madagascar obtained its license in October 2022 and, operationally, it has opened its activity to customers since September 2023, according to information available on its website. Its parent group took advantage of Ivory Coast’s guest of honor status at the Malagasy tourist fair to organize its official inauguration, including that of its new headquarters.
For its Malagasy subsidiary, the AFG group has invested 45 billion ariary (local currency) in share capital, or around 10 million dollars (6 billion FCFA). It also aims to provide innovative financing solutions, including the possibility of opening bank accounts more easily.
The Malagasy banking sector is experiencing room for improvement with a banking rate that offers growth opportunities. However, according to data from the International Monetary Fund, the return on assets has stabilized somewhat between 2019 (31.1%) and 2022 (30.1%). We also note a decline in the profitability of credit activities, with an interest margin which fell from 60.6% in 2019 to only 48.4% at the end of 2022. At the same time, operating expenses continued to put pressure on net banking income.
In addition, AFG Bank Madagascar will compete with several rising African banking brands, such as the Moroccan Bank of Africa group, the Gabonese BGFI and the Mauritius Commercial Bank. It will also find in this market the Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) group, the Moroccan partner with which the Banque Atlantique network was built in West Africa.
The real motivations which pushed AFG to carry out an expansion on the Big Island remain discreet. But its founder Koné Dossongui has, over time, built a reputation as a visionary in the African banking sector. Since his initiative to acquire the French bank Crédit Industriel et Commercial in 1978 and Barclays Bank Côte d’Ivoire in 1992, he has navigated between opportunities and challenges to establish a solid banking and financial brand on the continent. In Madagascar it is also advertised in the construction materials industry sector (Cements).
