Best bank: Rawbank
The banking sector in DR Congo is undergoing transition. The central bank has proposed new ownership requirements for banks in the country, stipulating that they must have at least four unrelated shareholders. At the same time, large banks outside the country, such as Kenya’s KCB and Equity Bank, are eyeing the market as a potential growth opportunity – hardly surprising when less than a third of the DR Congolese population has a bank account.
Amid this change, Rawbank remains the leading bank in the country. It saw an 87% jump in profit before tax to $236 million in 2023, up from $126 million in 2022, according to the bank’s unaudited financial results.
It has continued to develop its digital offering, in particular its digital wallet, Illico Cash, under the leadership of CEO Mustafa Rawji.
In 2023, this involved launching a virtual prepaid card feature within the app to allow users to make payments without needing a traditional bank account.
For existing customers, the bank has added a feature to enable them to link their bank cards to the app.
Last year, the bank provided $800 million to both local and international mining enterprises and benefitted from growth in deposits from mining clients, driven by the surge in commodity prices over the past five years.
Despite this, Rawbank has also allocated more than $150 million to sustainable financing and investment in projects across renewable energy, green infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience.
Best digital bank: Trust Merchant Bank
Trust Merchant Bank has made impressive progress in digitalization and financial inclusion across the DRC in 2023.
The bank upgraded its core banking system to the latest version of Temenos T24, integrating artificial intelligence and open application programming interfaces, and expanding them to all banking operations.
The bank also added lending to its mobile banking service, Pepele Mobile, in 2023, disbursing almost 20,000 loans on Pepele Mobile.
By growing its point-of-sale network by just over 25% alongside its agency outlet network, the bank has greatly increased accessibility to its services. However, in remote areas, the telecommunications network cannot support mobile phone banking. The bank has therefore introduced motorbikes, telecoms and mobile mini-generator powered printers and scanners to provide banking services in these areas.
In 2023, it expanded these services to 11 provinces, with mobile teams now providing banking services to up to 200,000 customers each month.
Best bank for ESG: Rawbank
In 2023, Rawbank’s sustainable financing exceeded $150 million across multiple projects and initiatives, including renewable energy, green infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience.
In collaboration with the Swiss energy group Vitol, the bank made a $20 million investment to support biodiversity and renewable energy projects across the DRC. The funding provided will contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions by 75 million tonnes over the next decade. Through the installation of green energy infrastructure, including an 800-megawatt hydroelectric power station and 200 megawatts of solar panels, it is set to lead to the electrification of one million households, especially in underserved urban and rural areas.
In partnership with Mastercard, Rawbank’s climate finance desk was the first in the DRC to adopt the Mastercard Carbon Calculator, which allows customers to easily check the carbon footprint of their transactions.
Additionally, the bank supported sustainable agriculture programmes that encourage responsible land management by helping smallholder farmers adopt climate-smart practices.
Rawbank’s own carbon offsetting activities led to the avoidance or removal of over 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions in 2023, a big increase over the previous year.
