ETI has informed the Exchange that it has received a US$6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to promote low-cost savings accounts in rural and poor neighborhoods in Africa. This grant provides Ecobank the opportunity to expand banking services to a broader group of people. The project will start off with a three-year pilot in Ghana and Liberia, two of the thirty countries in Africa where Ecobank has a presence.
This grant to Ecobank is part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor initiative. It works with a wide range of public and private partners to harness technology and innovation in order to bring quality, affordable savings accounts and other financial services to the doorsteps of the poor in developing countries.
The Foundation believes that setting aside small sums in a safe place allows people to guard against risk, build assets and provide opportunities for the next generation.
Issued in Accra, this 26th
day of January, 2010.