India’s ICICI Bank seals deal with Ecobank

India’s second largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa’s Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a parent company of Ecobank Ghana Limited.

Signing the MoU in Tokyo, Japan, the President of International Banking Group, ICICI Bank Vijay Chandok, and, Group CEO, Ecobank, Arnold Ekpe noted that in a statement “ India’s increasing business relations with Africa is what apparently prompted ICICI Bank to take this initiative”.

“The MoU will involve ICICI Bank and Ecobank collaborating to extend banking services across their combined footprint in India and Africa. Ecobank is present in 35 countries in Africa,” it stated.

“In recent years, trade and investment from India to Africa has grown multi-fold and is poised to grow even higher. This MoU is a concrete step in the direction of supporting Indian corporates in Africa. It will allow ICICI Bank and Ecobank to leverage their combined expertise, strong local knowledge and corporate relationships to support Indo-African businesses,” Vijay Chandok said.

India’s trade with Africa has doubled in the past four years. Stronger investment ties are complementing this steady growth in trade with Indian investments in Africa across a range of sectors including oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, fertilizers, IT and infrastructure, the lender stated in the release.

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