The Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s leading private sector bank, has celebrated the completion of its training programme and the graduation of 19 certified Credit Analysts from Kenya and Uganda.
The training programme comes as part of the bank’s plans to advance banking literacy in East Africa. The programme, which lasted for 10 months, included an in-depth study of credit management by specialised trainers from different departments.
The celebration was attended by prominent CIB leaders, including: Sherif Samy, CIB’s Non-Executive Chairman; Hussein Abaza, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board Directors; Mohamed El Senary, Head of Human Resources; Dr Amani Abou Zeid, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy, Informatics, and Tourism; and Dr Nadia El Aref, ESLSCA University President.
The bank conducted several interviews and tests in cooperation with ESLSCA University, narrowing down the 200 applicants from Kenya and Uganda to 24. More than 50% of the selected applicants were women, in line with the CIB’s continuous efforts to support working women.
The programme began in January 2020, with an introductory course in Uganda to introduce participants to the banking system. It was scheduled to continue in Cairo, but it was moved online in June 2020 in light of the restrictions due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Within the programme, there were more than 500 training hours, in addition to periodic examinations and assessments to prepare participants to make credit decisions based on proper credit foundations and rules.
It comes in tandem with CIB’s regional expansion plans in Africa, and its quest to operate in markets with growth potential, which has led the bank to search for opportunities in the African market during the past years.
The bank is specifically interested in the East Africa region, as it is the most suitable foreign market for an Egyptian bank to operate in, due to the strong commercial ties between Egypt and the region.
CIB had opened a representative office in Addis Ababa to analyse the banking and commercial sectors in Ethiopia, and strengthen its relationships with local banks to promote trade. It was a crucial step in the bank’s plans to expand in different African countries that began to take place in 2017. It also acquired an ownership share in May Fair, a Kenyan bank.
CIB is the largest private sector bank in Egypt thanks to its financial position and unique business model that focuses on meeting customers’ needs. It offers a wide range of banking products and services to its customers, including individuals, high-net-worth individuals, institutions, and companies of all kinds.
