From left to right: Dodou Bammy Jagne, Deputy General Manager, Niania Dabo, Head of Retail Banking, and Mohamed Khaled Shalbek, General Manager

Following membership in the Sahelo-Saharan (CEN-SAD) Community, comprised of 26 countries in the region, The Gambia also became a member of the group’s regional bank, Banque Sahelo-Saherienne Pour L’Investment et Le Commerce (BSIC). The bank group, which is chaired by Alhadi Alwarfalli, now boasts twelve affiliate banks operating in Libya, Chad, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Senegal, The Gambia, Ghana and Central Africa, and plans are to have affiliates in most member countries within five years.

BSIC is a super bank as it is chartered to provide services as a development bank for the medium- and long-term financing of projects in cooperation with other regional and international financial institutions and specialized investment guarantee institutions, such as WABD, ADB, IDB, FAGACE, GARI, and FSA, with an emphasis on poverty reduction. The bank also offers full conventional banking.

According to BSIC General Manager Mohamed Khaled Shalbek, “The main purpose for setting up the bank was to contribute to The Gambia’s economic development in line with the government’s Vision 2020.” Consequently, the bank offers products and services that are far more competitive than any other bank operating in the market. This is possible because the bank’s capital of €500 million is backed by shareholder CEN-Sad member states. In The Gambia, President Yahya Jammeh himself gave the green light for Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs M.G. Balla Gaye to acquire shares on behalf of the government.

Deputy general manager, Dodou Bammy Jagne, says, “The duality of BSIC’s charter makes it distinctly unique but also heightens its responsibility to ensure that through their operations, BSIC will be a key actor in the transformation of the economy.” Head of retail banking, Niania Dabo, adds: “Within the next five years, we want to be a major contributor towards bringing interest rates down in the economy.” Already, BSIC has set new standards by significantly reducing the minimum deposit for savings accounts to almost a quarter of the industry rate, proving that, indeed, BSIC Gambia is the ‘people’s bank’.

Shalbek says that BSIC plans to introduce Visa Cards and Electronic Payment Services shortly in The Gambia’s cash-driven economy. He invites the Gambian diaspora and international investors to join in and grow with BSIC.

BSIC – Gambia Ltd.
52 Kairaba Avenue, Banjul
Telephone: +220 449 8077
Fax: +220 449 8080
SWIFT: BSAHGMGM
PMB: 204, KSMD
Email: bsicgm@bsicgambia.gm