BARCLAYS OPENS NEW BRANCH IN MOROGORO

Barclays Bank Tanzania acting Chairman Simon Mponji (right) opens a curtain to inaugurate the bank’s Morogoro Branch, located 200 kilometres from Dar es Salaam, at the weekend. Looking on from left are Barclays Tanzania managing director Abdi Mohamed and Barclays board member Dr Suleman Mohamed. PHOTO | COURTESY OF BARCLAYS.

In Summary

Going by the 2013 Finscope survey, it is only 13.9 per cent of adult Tanzanians who have accounts with various commercial banks while a majority of the population depends on non-bank formal financial services including mobile phone money facilities.

Morogoro. Barclays Bank Tanzania has opened a new branch at NHC Building in Morogoro as it brings its services closer to the people and get an increased share of the unbanked population of the country.

Going by the 2013 Finscope survey, it is only 13.9 per cent of adult Tanzanians who have accounts with various commercial banks while a majority of the population depends on non-bank formal financial services including mobile phone money facilities.

But armed with Sh32 billion in recent recapitalization, Barclays Bank Tanzania believes it has what it takes to expand and reach some of the unbanked segments of the population.

“Barclays Africa Group Ltd has invested Sh32 billion as new capital into our Bank and with the opening of the new branch means we can leverage on the growth of industrialization, social and economic development in Morogoro region and beyond,” the bank’s managing director, Mr Abdi Mohamed said at the branch opening event here at the weekend. He said the bank is fully committed to serving the Tanzanian market and that the management is optimistic about all the business prospects that are available in the country.

In December last year (2016), Barclays Africa Group Ltd invested Sh32 billion more capital into Barclays Bank Tanzania in a bid to strengthen capital and ensure growth the bank.

The recapitalisation was aimed at positioning the business for growth in the market so as to meet its ambitious goals for 2017 and beyond. Among others, the recapitalisation seeks to enable the bank to extend its Single Borrower’s Limit to support development of the corporate business and to invest in its employees.

In apparent gesture of the new investment’s impact, the Morogoro branch is the fourth one to be opened by Barclays Bank Tanzania during the past few months.

“By the end of last year, we had opened three new branches at Dar es Salaam City Mall, Mwanza and Alfa House. NHC Branch is our fourth branch to be opened this year,” said Mr Mohamed.