Kinshasa, DRC – Having recognized the significance of the Democratic Republic of theCongo (DRC) in the global green energy transition, the importance of its strategic minerals, and its food production potential in contributing to global food security, Equity Group Holdings Plc (EGH), noting its position as Africa’s strongest financial brand with a 14 billion USD balance sheet as at 30 June 2024 and global shareholders Norfund, NorFinance, Rabobank Partnerships and FMO through the Arise Investment and the World Bank through IFC, is committed to supporting the DRC to achieve its national objectives as set out in the National Development Plan for the 2022-2026 period.
Amongst other initiatives, EGH has supported EquityBCDC with a capital injection of 70m USD and has engaged global technology companies including HPE and Infosys to support it in enhancing customerexperience and the delivery of products and services fit for the market in pursuit of its Group’s comprehensivesustainable development plan, the Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan. As part of the Plan, EquityBCDC is implementing strategic initiatives with the goal of impacting 30 million people in the DRC by 2030. Thisstrategy is dependent on, among others, human capability, capital and superior technology capabilities.
To execute the strategy, strengthen oversight, governance and internal controls and position the organization for growth and impact, the Board of Directors of EquityBCDC has announced appointments tothe Board and Management. Five new Board members have been appointed – two of whom have beennominated by the Honorable Minister of Portfolio, Jean-Lucien Bussa Tongba, of the Government of the DRC.
Board members appointed by EquityBCDC Directors:
- Éric Mboma Tamutunu, is an expert in finance, the mining industry, and strategy, widely recognized for his dedication to transforming the African financial sector and fostering financial inclusion across the continent. In his most recent corporate role, he led an insurance group across the Middle East and North Africa region. A venture capital enthusiast, Éric’s journey is marked by an unwavering commitment to innovation and progress. He brings a bold vision for Africa’s future. With an MBA from Chicago Booth, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and advanced qualifications from ESCP, Duke University, and Tel Aviv University, Éric’s academic career underscores his pursuit of excellence.
- Ms. Sandra Antunes Boumah, a Multilingual Banker and Investment Banking Expert with a career of over 20 years’ experience with a bias in investment banking, investment management, sustainable finance, and capital markets. She has previously worked in notable banks like IFC and JP Morgan across Africa and Europe in charge of investment strategy, specifically on increase of financial inclusion and delivering sustainable finance for markets in Africa. She is currently the ChiefRepresentative at Commerzbank at Casablanca, Morocco. She is a native of Morocco.
- Mr. Kadita Tshibaka, a risk management expert who as a global business leader has risen to serveleadership roles at international levels in the banking and retail sector, with a bias towards risk management oversight in the financial sectors.
Additionally, he possesses corporate governance expertise having sat on several boards at the international level or senior advisory roles. He is involved in philanthropic projects in the communities of the DRC. He is a native of DRC Congo.
Board members nominated by Government of the DRC for approval subject to regulatory approval:
- Mr. Cédric Lilongo Baende is Advisor in charge of coordination of the Legal Unit of the Minister of the Portfolio of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has also been Legal and Administrative Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Trade and has served as Representative of the Guardianship on the Board of Directors of the National Agency for Promotion of Exports. He has been practicing law for almost 20 years and is a veteran trade law expert.
- Ms. Yvette Vetokele is a seasoned development executive having worked with UNDP, MONUSCO, USAID, the World Bank and the Embassy of the United States in the DRC in various roles. She was most recently the manager in charge of logistics, imports and exports of telecommunications equipment at VODACOM Congo.
The new Directors join the EquityBCDC Board, comprised of a globally experienced talent pool with appropriate skill sets to support the economic, social and sustainability goals of the DRC, as well as the governance, compliance, internal controls and technology expertise needed to take the EquityBCDC business to the next level as the DRC market attracts more investment attention.
- Mr. Wolfgang Bertelsmeier, Chair of the Board of Directors, holds a degree in Business Administration from Frankfurt University and a degree in Banking as well as executive education courses at Harvard Business School, INSEAD and Stanford University. He has worked in various capacities with Deutsche Bank, DEG, the World Bank and the IFC and has held various Board Directorships primarily in financial institutions in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as infrastructure, agribusiness and hospitality companies in Africa. He is a native of Germany.
- Mr. Ignace Mabanza Meti, holds an MBA, Diploma in Political and Administrative Sciences and Bachelor in applied economics sciences from Belgium. He has extensive experience as a senior bank executive, financial expert and consultant, project developer, business creator, company manager and trainer, with over 34 years of experience in Management and Leadership of in leading banks, mainly in the DRC and in West African Countries (Niger, Senegal and Nigeria). Meti was notably the long-serving CEO of Citibank in the DRC, pioneer CEO and thereafter Chairman of the Board of Access Bank DRC. He currently runs Congo Fret Express. He is a native of DR Congo.
- Mr. John Wilson is a graduate of the Swedish Military Academy and holds a Master of Arts in Economics from Uppsala University and a Master of Public Affairs from Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. John began his career at McKinsey & Co in Europe and the former SovietUnion, focusing on manufacturing/transportation/infrastructure. He then joined the World Bank Private Sector Development Department working on privatization in Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Russia, Ukraine, and was thereafter seconded as the head of the IFC Global Head of Capital Markets. Returning to his native Sweden, John built the Export & Project Finance department at Swedbank, and then headed up Structured Finance, Equity Capital Markets, Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy including M&A. In 2006, he joined Kaupthing Bank as Head of Investment Banking and thenreturned to IFC in 2008. He joined EGH in August 2019 as Group Chief Operating Officer. He is a native of Sweden.
- Dr. James Mwangi, CBS, is the Equity Group Holdings Managing Director and CEO and Executive Chairman of the Equity Group Foundation. James holds six honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of his positive impact in the East Africa region and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a Certified Public Accountant. He has been awarded the G8 Global Vision Award, 2007; named among the Top 50 Emerging Market Business Leaders and the 20 Most influential people in Africa in 2011 by the FT; named the World Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2012; the Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2012 and named in the Bloomberg 50 list of people who defined 2019 globally. He is an honoree of the 2020 Oslo Business for Peace Award, also described as the ‘Nobel Prize for Business’. James sits on the US Council on Foreign Relations; the World Bank Presidential Jobs Council; HM King Charles Sustainable Markets Initiative co-leading its Africa Council; HM King Charles Trust as an Africa Advisory Board member and he co-chairs the UN Global Compact African Business Leaders Council, among other international appointments for his lifelong work in financial inclusion. He is a native of Kenya.
- Mr. Brent Malahay, is the Equity Group Holdings Chief Strategy Officer. Brent holds a Master’s degree in Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of KwaZulu- Natal, South Africa. He has over 16 years’ experience in financial services with competencies ranging fromcommercial banking, credit ratings, investment banking and fund management. He has previously worked at Standard Bank, Fitch Ratings, J.P. Morgan and Investec Asset Management. He is a native of the Philippines.
In addition to the Board appointments and in order to enhance management capacity to address the needs of a 30 million customer base in the DRC by 2030, the following management appointments have been made:
With immediate effect, Mr. Willy Kabadi Mulamba is appointed as Managing Director, EquityBCDC and a member of the Board of Directors, subject to Central Bank approval. Mr. Mulamba is the former Chief Executive Officer of Citibank DRC and former Chairman of the DRC Bankers Association. He is a results driven, experienced banker with 20-plus years in the global financial services industry, specializing in executive management, corporate governance, risk management, deal origination and DRC local markets. He has a Master’s degree in Banking, Finances and law from the University of Paris-Saclay, France; a Master’s studies in Economics, University of North Texas; and a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from the University of Liege, Belgium.
“I am honored to have been appointed by the EquityBCDC Board of Directors as the new Managing Director of EquityBCDC. As a Congolese, the opportunity to lead the transformation of the lives and livelihoods of the people of the DRC by offering trusted financial services to our people is a humbling moment and I look forward to working with the entire EquityBCDC staff and the Board of Directors to support our growth to the next level,” said Mr. Mulamba.
Mr. Mulamba takes over from Mr. Celestin Mukeba Muntuabu, who has served as the Managing Director of EquityBCDC from 2020. Mr. Mukeba was the Managing Director of ProCredit Bank when EGH made its first acquisition in the DRC, and he successfully led the growth of the institution up to the merger. He was then appointed to run the merged entity.
“I am proud to have served Equity Bank Congo and EquityBCDC for nine years to support the development and growth of this institution and am grateful to the Board of Directors and to the Equity Group Holdingsmanagement for their investment and dedication to the progress and advancement of the country. I lookforward to seeing the positive development of the DRC with EquityBCDC supporting its growth,” said Mr. Mukeba.
Mr. Muntuabu journeyed from ProCredit, to Equity Bank Congo, to EquityBCDC with Mr. Auguste Kanku whohas been serving as a Deputy Managing Director and Company Secretary. The Board of Directors additionally announces the departure of Mr. Kanku who leaves the organization to pursue others business opportunities.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Mukeba and to Mr. Kanku for their service to Equity Bank Congo and EquityBCDC for the past nine years. Their role in integrating the two banks and contributing to the growth of the DRC business thus far has been notable,” said Wolfgang Bertelsmeier, Chairman of the Board, EquityBCDC. “At time of the ProCredit acquisition there were 133,435 customers with a balance sheet of 1.5 million USD and at the time of the merger with Banque Commercial du Congo to create EquityBCDC, the customer base had grown to 891,085. Today the EquityBCDCcustomer base is 1,868,358 with a balance sheet of 4.4 billion USD. We wish to offer our best wishes to Mr. Mukeba in his future endeavors.”
In order to bring EquityBCDC services closer to our customers in regional areas, and to strengthen the Human Resources, Finance and Internal Control functions, the Board of Directors has created the positions of regionally based Deputy Managing Directors to facilitate decentralization of decision- making authority for ease of service to customers and better understanding of unique customer requirements.
- Mr. Pierre Ezan, who currently serves as EquityBCDC’s Chief Financial Officer since September 2021 has over 20 years of experience in management and leadership roles in the fields of oil and gas, energy, electricity, audit, and control has been named as EquityBCDC Deputy Managing Director for Finance, HR, and Internal Control functions. He has worked in Latin America, West Africa, East Africa, and Central Africa and holds a Diploma in Accounting and Finance Studies (INSET Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast), a Masters in Management (EM Lyon), and a postgraduate diploma in Finance and Accounting (France).
- Mr. Yves Binzunga, who joined EquityBCDC as Regional Director, West Region in April 2022, has been named Deputy Managing Director, South Region. Mr. Binzunga previously served as theRegional Director of Katanga and Eastern DRC and the Head of Multinational and Regional Corporate Business with Ecobank for 11 years; Prior to this, he was the Account Executive for Corporate Banking at Standard Bank. He has over 20 years of Banking experience.
- Mr. Timo Ntoto Aley Angu, has been named as Deputy Managing Director, West Region. Mr. Ntotois formerly the Deputy Managing Director of Ecobank DRC, and Regional Corporate Bank Head forSADC (DRC, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe). As an Executive Director, he enabled digitalization across Ecobank DRC to increase operational efficiency and extended bank customer reach and client experience. He also directed organizational transformation by developing risk alertness and control culture, ensuring compliance with set standards and processes, and leading cost-saving initiatives. He has over 20 years of banking experience.
To complement the regional management structure, further management appointments have been made designed to elevate and strengthen the organization in its role as a local bank operating as part of a globalbanking brand servicing DRC SMEs, international and local corporate clients working in the DRC, and supporting the DRC Government to systematize its operations through digitization of payments.
- Mr. Jean-Marc Openge, formerly Legal Regulatory and Compliance Manager at Liquid Technologiesand current Director of Legal of EquityBCDC, named Company Secretary, and Director of Legal at EquityBCDC.
- Ms. Hannah Subayi Kamuanga, former DRC Country Officer for Proparco, and Head of PE and VC for Central Africa named Director of Corporate Banking and Public Institutions, EquityBCDC.
- Mr. Edgard Djimhotengar, former Risk Manager of the Central Bank of Central African States; former Director of Risk at the Development Bank of Central Africa States joins as Chief Risk Officer of EquityBCDC.
- Mr. Maxwell Liwanga Mat, formerly Internal Control Director at Ecobank and Internal Audit Director at International Bank of Africa in Congo joins EquityBCDC as Chief Audit Executive.
- Mr. Christophe Gneka, former Head of Compliance, Bank of Africa, and Head of Multi-regional Integration Projects at Societe Generale joins EquityBCDC as Compliance Director.
- Mr. Chouariho Coulibaly, most recently a senior executive with Citibank as Head of Operations and Technology for West and Central Africa, named EquityBCDC, Operations Director.
- Mr. Kayembe Kangomba, formerly Chief Information Officer of Standard Bank DRC and Head of the IT Department at Orange DRC joins EquityBCDC as IT Director.
- Mr. Michael Kitsisa, most recently Lead, Information Security Architecture Practice at the UN World Intellectual Property Organization, and previously Assistant Vice President Head-Policy, Crisis Management, BCP and IS Risk Management at Ecobank, named Equity BCDC, Director IT Governance.
The following resources, among others, have been availed by EGH to support EquityBCDC:
- Mr. Dominic Sam, former Resident Representative, UNDP DRC announced as Country Director, DRC and Central Africa, Equity Group Foundation.
- Mr. Hugues Efole, former Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corridor Development for Moneygram, joins Equity Group Holdings as Group Director, Payments, Cross Border Remittances and Diaspora.
- Mr. Rene Kalonji, formerly Chief of Staff at JP Morgan, serves as Chief Products Officer, Equity Group Holdings.
- Mr. Christian Kashala, former Director of Supply Chain for Airtel Africa and Helios Towers, named Group Supply Chain Director, Equity Group Holdings.
The appointments put in place a largely Congolese executive management team at EquityBCDC and several senior executive staff members operating at the Equity Group level who have comprehensive experience and knowledge of the customer base in the DRC, of the sectoral strengths of the market, and who bring global knowledge to EquityBCDC operations. The changes align with the goals of the DRC Government to transform the nation into a prosperous international market and investment destination which supports the transformation of the lives and livelihoods of the people of the DRC.
The team will be working in strong partnership with long serving EquityBCDC retail, corporate and MSME/SME focused staff members, whose local content experience will help to address the over 90% of Congolese citizens who have yet to be included in the formal financial system and will work closely with the Equity Group Foundation to help capacitate the citizens of the DRC to access formal banking services.
In sync with the work of EGH, the team will address ecosystem and value chain development in key sectors of the DRC such as Agriculture, Green Minerals, Manufacturing and Logistics as part of the Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan. The wholistic Plan has been adopted by the United Nations, the IFC/World Bank, the East African Community, the Africa Free Continental Trade Area Secretariat and the CommonwealthEnterprise and Investment Council, among others as a framework of private sector engagement in Africa, designed to create jobs and fulfill the continents transition to resilience.
Due to EquityBCDC’s importance to the DRC economy and DRC’s place in the global economy, the new leadership and management appointments were necessitated to match the aspiration of Equity Group, the potential for growth and advancement of the DRC and the size of capital deployment and projectdevelopment to support the DRC to sustainably develop. In addition, the Group has established its socialimpact arm, the Equity Group Foundation, in the DRC to complement its banking, insurance, technology and investment operations in order to capacitate and empower the citizens of the DRC to advance and sustain their own lives and livelihoods.
“The DRC is one of Equity’s focus markets for African growth and shared prosperity. With 100 million- plus people and less than 7 percent of the population being financially included, we took the leap in 2015 toinvest in the market and have kept our eye on the country, deepening our investments here in 2020 with the acquisition of BCDC,” said Dr. James Mwangi, Group MD and CEO of Equity Group Holdings. “Our intention, is to support the transformation of lives and livelihoods throughout the DRC, and to work in collaboration with the Government of the DRC to achieve progress for the country.”
“Before Equity acquired BCDC, the legacy of BCDC founded in 1909, was created by its contribution to the 19th century industrial revolutions which saw the DRC as a manufacturing and export powerhouse in Central Africa. May the new legacy of EquityBCDC be written in the implementation of 4th industrial revolution technologies in the DRC to support the financial inclusion of our people and may it contribute as substantially to the positive development of the DRC forgenerations to come,” said Eric Mboma, Board of Directors, EquityBCDC.
Equity Group is the largest financial services firm in East and Central Africa, and the largest company bymarket cap in the region. In 2024, Brand Finance ranked Equity Group as the number one Strongest BankingBrand on the continent of Africa and the 2nd Strongest Banking Brand in the world. In the same year, the IFC cited Equity Group as having the highest number of climate finance transactions in the world.
EquityBCDC is a subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings Plc (EGH), the largest financial services group in East and Central Africa, and the company with the highest market capitalization in the region at 1.4 billion USD as of 7 November 2024 and a balance sheet of 14 billion USD.
Following the acquisition in 2015 of the German microlending institution, ProCredit which was renamed Equity Bank Congo; and the 2020 acquisition of the 1909 founded Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) EGH created the merged entity of EquityBCDC. The combined entity has been operating as EquityBCDC since December 2020.
