(Ecofin Agency) - It was in its brand new Koumassi St Etienne branch that the executive management and personnel of Advans Côte d’Ivoire welcomed the general public on Monday 22 June 2015. After being given a warm reception in the unique premises, the first visitors were given a thorough explanation of Advans Côte d’Ivoire’s mission statement, as well as the different services available to operators in the informal sector, SMEs and individual customers.

The opening of the Koumassi Saint Etienne branch is a considerable innovation. For the first time in the Ivorian banking landscape, a microfinance institution (Advans CI) and a bank (SGBCI, shareholder in Advans CI capital) share the same branch in order to make available to the general population a complementary range of well suited and successful loans, services and financial products.

Under the supervision of an experienced branch manager and a professional and dynamic team, the Koumassi St Etienne branch will be an exchange point which will enable Advans to assert its vision, its ethics and its expertise in microfinance.

With a network of seven (07) branches and over 300 staff members, Advans CI already offers to more than 30,000 entrepreneurs and personal customers in Côte d’Ivoire  practical and economical financial services including among others loans ranging from FCfa150,000 to FCfa150 million, savings accounts at no charge with the best interest rate on the market, current accounts with very competitive charges, as well as a full range of financial services (transfers, bank cards, cheque books, mobile banking, insurance, etc).

Subscribing to the policy of proximity of Advans CI, after the branches in Adjamé (Mairie et Château d’eau), Marcory, Yopougon, Abobo, and Bouaké, the opening of the new Advans branch in the heart of Koumassi comes at the right time to cater to the need for support and financing of SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs of the borough and even beyond; a new opportunity for Advans CI and SGBCI to assert their common will to effectively contribute to the access of banking services for the Ivorian populations and the financing for micro-businesses and SMEs in Côte d’Ivoire.