National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has re-affirmed its growth strategy plan to expand to two more countries in Africa as a way of penetrating the cross-border market. 

Last year, the Bank unveiled its five-year strategic plan, which included penetrating into Mozambique and Zambia on top of acquiring Akiba Commercial Bank in Tanzania.

Speaking at this year’s Stakeholders Engagement session in Lilongwe Monday, NBM plc Board Chairperson, Jimmy Lipunga said so far the Bank has made great strides in establishing the business in Mozambique. 

“As part of our growth, we discovered that we can penetrate other markets across the borders, just like other Banks got into Malawi. We realized that there is an opportunity to market our products which are not available in other countries, like Mo626 and others. So far, we have made great progress and we will soon be announcing our first move to one of the African countries,” said Lipunga.

On the performance of Akiba Commercial Bank, the NBM plc Board Chairperson disclosed that the Bank’s performance has been improving with the greatest one being last year when its loss reduced to less than K1 Billion as compared to the previous year when it was slightly over the amount. 

“When we acquired Akiba Commercial Bank, we knew we would be making losses because we wanted to grow the Bank. Over the past years the aim has not been making profits, but growing it. We are glad that we are now seeing the fruits,” he said.

NBM plc Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Macfussy Kawawa also highlighted his optimism on the turn-over strategy at another associate company United General Insurance Company (UGI).

It was indicated during the engagement meeting that UGI has also made strides in reducing its losses to about K26 million from a billion the previous year. 

“So, the main aim of the engagement session was for us to interact with our customers and share our growth plan and what we have achieved so far, so that we are on the same path in whatever developments take place within the Bank,” said Kawawa. 

One of the stakeholders, Semacia Kombe commended NBM plc for the stakeholder’s engagement session saying that gives them an opportunity to provide feedback on other operations by the Bank. 

“Being a stakeholder and a shareholder, I need to know how my Bank is performing. I therefore commend NBM plc for their transparency in how the Bank is being run,” she said. 

The engagement session was attended by various stakeholders including majority and minority shareholders.

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