A Kenyan has been appointed as the new Chief executive officer of Rwandan bank, BPR (Banque Populaire du Rwanda Ltd). The appointment, which was approved by the board of directors of BPR Atlas Mara, is effective September 1, 2017.
Maurice Toroitich, the former head of KCB-bank Rwanda, replaces Sanjeev Anand, who was posted as the group managing director in charge of retail and commercial banking operations of Atlas Mara, Rwandan newspaper, The New Times reports.
Toroitich said he will put more emphasis on product development, innovation and digitisation to further enhance efficiency in terms of service delivery.
He has over 20 years experience in retail and corporate banking and before his appointment he had served as the Managing Director of KCB Bank Rwanda for over eight years.
Toroitich also holds an MBA from Strathmore Business School in Nairobi and a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting from the University of Nairobi in addition to professional qualifications.
“The management is excited to have Maurice on-board who will drive both the day-to-day business and ensure that the long-term goals of BPR remain on path of achievement and are unobstructed, and I take this opportunity to wish him all the best upon his new appointment,” Sanjeev was quoted by the paper as saying.
He said the bank recognises innovation as a key ingredient towards boosting financial inclusion and recognises the bank’s efforts toward embracing innovation and technology to enhance efficiency and product development.
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He added the bank has invested heavily in capacity building, and digitized its systems to improve service delivery and consumer confidence. He is confident that his predecessor Toroitich will do a great job.
Atlas Mara invested more than Ksh2.1 billion (US$20.4 million) in BPR and merged it with BRD Commercial Bank Ltd, part of Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) in 2014 as part of a strategy to boost financial inclusion.
In April 2015 Atlas Mara Limited acquired minority shares in BPR and later in 2016 merged BPR with the commercial wing of the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRDC) that it had acquired in 2014 giving Atlas Mara the controlling stake of 62.1% of shares.
The bank is now the second largest commercial bank by total assets, and largest bank in Rwanda by customer base and branch network.
