Afriland First Group, a multinational financial institution led by Cameroonian banking magnate Paul Fokam, is planning to sell its Ugandan subsidiary, Afriland First Bank Uganda Limited, as part of its exit strategy from the Ugandan market.
Afriland First Group’s recent decision to liquidate its Ugandan subsidiary and sell off the bank’s assets was the result of a strategic business decision as the company continues to reduce its presence in Africa.
The Bank of Uganda has approved a request by Afriland First Bank Uganda Limited to apply to the high court for voluntary liquidation as part of the country’s move to close shops. This complies with Ugandan regulatory requirements for a company’s shareholders to carry out a self-imposed corporate wind-up and dissolution.
According to Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Michael Atingi Ego, the shareholders’ decision to liquidate the company was the result of a strategic business review.
Fokam established Afriland First Bank in Cameroon in 1987 as “Caisse Commune d’Epargne et d’Investissement.” On July 1, 1988, its first branch opened and became operational.
Today, it operates subsidiaries in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Liberia, South Sudan, Sao Tome and Príncipe, Uganda, and Zambia, and with two representative offices in France and China.
With the announced liquidation of its Ugandan subsidiary, Afriland First Group further reduces its presence in Africa, where it now has only nine subsidiaries.
The impending departure from Uganda follows the sale of the assets of CCEI Bank Equatorial Guinea, its Equatorial Guinean subsidiary, following a breach of trust with the authorities of this CEMAC country (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Chad, Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea).
Afriland First Group is looking to expand into Chad and is exploring new horizons on the continent.
