LeapFrog Investments, a Profit with Purpose investment firm, with most of its asset holdings in Asia and Africa has acquired a 16.94 per cent stake in Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd.
Having gained the shares from Amethis Finance and Edmond de Rothschild Equity Strategies (ERES), LeapFrog is expected to leverage on its decade of investment experience across Africa’s financial services sector to build upon the outstanding successes achieved by Fidelity Bank.
With the shares held by Amethis and ERES for 7 years since the purchase in 2014 for US$35 million, Fidelity Bank has over the years embarked on an expansion drive. Especially, via the acquisition of Pro-Credit Savings and Loans to widen its network across the country.
The Bank also established a state-of-the-art customer contact centre and upgraded its technological platforms through a collaboration with IBM. In continuing with its sterling performance over the years, Fidelity Bank now has 75 branches across the country.
Also, an outstanding success of the bank is its over one million customer-base. That aside, its innovative financing solutions and product offerings have scaled its growth, increasing financial inclusion as a result.
Edward Effah, Chairman of Fidelity Bank, remarked: “Amethis and ERES have played a pivotal role in the success and growth of Fidelity Bank. We are grateful for their support and their unwavering belief in the potential of Fidelity Bank.
“We look forward to working with LeapFrog Investments to build on the strong foundation that we created with Amethis and ERES.”
Edward Effah, Chairman, Fidelity Bank
In collaboration with Amethis and ERES as well as other investment partners, Fidelity Bank has emerged as a leader in digital innovation and financial inclusion. Expectations are that LeapFrog’s addition will mark a new chapter of continued growth and further success for the Bank.
Remarks by Amethis and ERES
Laurent Demey, Managing Partner at Amethis commented: “We are proud to have supported a successful and leading bank like Fidelity over the years. The journey has been rewarding thanks to the vision of Edward and his team.
We are grateful that we could partner with other investors like Africa Capital, LLC to be part of the growth story of Fidelity. We wish them the best and encourage them to remain driven by the ambition to serve their clients.”
Laurent Demey, Managing Partner, Amethis
Similarly, Samuel Pinto, Board Member of ERES indicated: “We are grateful to have been given the opportunity to collaborate with Fidelity, a move which resonates with our Financial Services investment theme and the long-standing involvement of the Edmond de Rothschild family in the financial industry. Fidelity’s has been a fantastic story of business growth.
“We have been impressed by how Edward Effah and his management team have built a very strong platform with a low tolerance to risk from scratch. We wish Edward Effah and Julian Kingsley Opuni, the Managing Director of Fidelity, further success in their new growth phase.”
Samuel Pinto, Board Member, ERES
Also, Karima Ola, Partner and Leader of African Financial Services Investments at LeapFrog, remarked: “We are thrilled to embark on this next phase of growth with Fidelity Bank. We are partnering with and supporting an industry leading, highly experienced management team with a strong track record of delivering profitable growth for this Tier-1 home-grown bank.
“Moreover, Fidelity Bank’s ‘Inclusive Banking’ and ‘Building Lives Through Finance’ initiatives strongly align with LeapFrog’s impact, sustainability and performance strategy. LeapFrog will support the bank’s leadership team to deliver on its growth and innovation agenda through customer insights, digital transformation, governance, and partnerships.”
Karima ola, Partner, LeapFrog
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