Best bank: Ecobank Guinea
Ecobank Guinea rolled out its Xpress Loan service in Guinea last year, which enables customers to obtain short-term micro credit loans using their mobile phones. The service was launched in partnership with Dubai fintech Optasia and pan-African telecommunications giant MTN.
It uses Optasia’s artificial intelligence-driven decision-making technology to disburse loans to MTN’s 800,000 active customers. This initiative, alongside Ecobank’s recently launched salary advance service, forms an important component of its strategy to drive financial inclusion in Guinea.
Additionally, Ecobank and the African Guarantee Fund finalized a $200 million risk sharing agreement aimed at supporting African small and medium-sized enterprises. This initiative enables increased lending to Guinean businesses, particularly to women-led enterprises and green projects, by providing enhanced guarantee coverage up to 75%. It marks a strategic effort to boost Ecobank’s lending capacity while mitigating the credit risks traditionally associated with SME financing.
Best digital bank: UBA Guinea
UBA Guinea achieved digital banking revenues of nearly $2.5 million in 2023.
The bank implemented a cardless function via its ATM network. Customers can generate a code, which can be shared with a third party for a withdrawal at a UBA terminal.
It also launched Inbranch POS, which allows UBA cardholders to perform a variety of transactions via a point-of-sale terminal inside bank branches. This helped the bank reach $1.7 million in physical digital banking revenues in 2023. Virtual digital banking revenues reached $191,000.
