It was a night of celebration at the end of November 2023 as the United Bank for Africa (UBA) hosted key government stakeholders, ambassadors and envoys from African missions present in Kenya to recognise diversity while promoting cooperation in financial services.
Themed “Embracing Financial Diversity for Prosperity”, the ‘diplomatic event’ anchored the pan-African lender as a facilitator of international trade, providing tailored solutions to support the financial endeavours of diplomatic missions.
“We are here to celebrate diversity and network,” said Ebele Ogbue, regional CEO of UBA, East and Southern Africa. “We are keen to support diplomatic missions in their efforts to foster international relations and drive economic growth.”
He went on: “We understand your needs, and we are glad to help facilitate those. We come up with products that speak to those needs. So, I believe in partnerships, and we are creating an environment for more partnerships to happen. Excellence doesn’t happen overnight.”
A Nigerian by birth, Mr Ogbue is optimistic about the bank’s trade solutions, which he says are designed to facilitate cross-border transactions and strengthen economic ties between nations.
The chief executive aims to enhance trade linkages, promote economic empowerment, and advance financial inclusion across borders. He notes that UBA focuses more on the customer through a “Customer First (C1st) philosophy”, which ensures that customers come first.
“The bank provides corporate, commercial, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), consumer and personal (retail) banking services to more than 30 million customers, served through diverse channels. We also have over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points (2,676 Automated Teller Machines, 303,703 Point of Sale systems), robust online banking and mobile banking,” he explains.
UBA started in Lagos, Nigeria, over 72 years ago (the bank has operated since 1949) and is a recognised banking brand from Sub-Saharan Africa. Besides the UK, USA, France and UAE (Dubai), it has operations in 20 African countries such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Congo DRC, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, and Tanzania, just to mention a few.
In Kenya, the bank has branches in the Industrial area (Enterprise Road), Upperhill, Westlands, Mombasa, and Nakuru, with plans to expand to other countries.
With a balance sheet of $23.6 billion as of December 31, 2022, UBA is a well-capitalised institution with the capacity for future growth.
“Our business in other African countries (ex-Nigeria) continues to wax stronger, contributing to the Group’s revenue and profitability on the upward trajectory; the balance sheet is at $20 trillion-plus. UBA is also the only African bank with deposit-taking compliance in the USA, with robust credit profile ratings from Fitch, Standard & Poor, and Agusto Co. This speaks to the lender’s size, so you are safe with us,” he says confidently.
He emphasises sustainable banking, saying it aligns with “responsible diplomacy” values. He adds that moving out of Africa to explore foreign markets was a good tactic.
“We have seen the flow of investments, but we still have a lot to do, and we can achieve this through collaboration… it is Africans who are going to grow and develop Africa,” he points out.
Additionally, a suite of services, including “excellent customer experience, cutting-edge payment and remittance solutions, robust treasury services, trade solutions, and consumer lending options”, positions the lender as the preferred financial partner.
It is its products that set it apart. Africash, for example, is a “fast, secure, and reliable payment solution” that allows money transfers across 20 African countries.
UBA Connect is also a feature of the lender’s accounts that allows customers to make withdrawals, deposits, and transfers from their accounts at any UBA location across Africa.
“There is seamless withdrawal of cash in any UBA branch in Kenya, Tanzania through UBA connect. We want to impact the lives of Africans who want to send money back home.
“We are in a world where technology is key. Years ago, people used to walk to physical shops, but now people use devices. That’s the reality of where we are. So we are moving in those times providing services at fingertips,”
says Ogbue.
