Letshego committed to enhancing financial inclusion

From the moment we opened our doors in Gaborone in 1998, what has set us apart from the rest is our deliberate positioning and clear focus to cater for those who conventional institutions see as “risky” – Low

OAITSE MATHALA

Letshego Holdings Limited, whose vision is to be Africa’s leading inclusive finance group, last week celebrated its 18th anniversary and indicated that it remains committed to enhancing financial inclusion in the region it operates in. Letshego is the largest indigenous company on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) by market capitalisation and operates in 10 countries in Southern, East and West Africa.
Financial inclusion underpins Letshego’s strategic agenda. “From the moment we opened our doors in Gaborone in 1998, what has set us apart from the rest is our deliberate positioning and clear focus to cater for those who conventional institutions see as “risky”. We are humbled by, and proud of, our invaluable niche that has improved lives by servicing hundreds of thousands customers, that in turn has positively impacted their families and their communities,” said Letshego Group Managing Director, Chris Low.
He highlighted that Letshego is focused on strategic partnerships to accelerate execution capabilities. A number of those include new innovative financial solutions such as micro insurance, agriculture supply chain financing, asset financing and servicing the renewable energy industry.
“We celebrate an organisation that has made an impact in the lives of many Batswana across the country. Also, Letshego has impacted many lives across our great continent, and continues to do so today. This is why we have refreshed our proudly Botswana brand, and are rolling it out to all our markets.,” Low said.
Letshego continues to shine in Botswana and in other nine African countries it has businesses in. As at 31st December 2015, Letshego evidenced strong growth, performance and returns to shareholders with a number of firsts recorded. Net advances exceeded P6 billion, total revenues exceeded P2 billion, and profit before tax crossed the P1 billion mark for the first time in history.
The group again topped the BSE market after trading on a year-to-date basis in terms of value, at P500.8 million during the first half of 2016. It was top of the market charts during the same period in 2015 when its trading contributed P439.3 million to the total share revenue.