Business News of Tuesday, 17 September 2013

Source: Nana Yaw Kesse

First Capital Plus wins award

First capital plus adjudged cimg non-bank financial institution of the year 2012

First Capital Plus has been adjudged the NON-BANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTION OF THE YEAR 2012 by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) at the 24th CIMG Annual Marketing Performance Awards held at the Banquet Hall, State House on Friday, 13th September, 2013.

The prestigious CIMG Annual Marketing Performance Award is an annual award organized to reward excellence in strategic marketing and leadership in an industry of operation. Some of the key indicators used in the assessment include; Marketing Innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility, financial performance, industry/competitor intelligence, evidence of customer insight/profiling, visibility amongst others.

The non-bank financial services category is a maiden category and First Capital Plus is therefore the first company to win it. The award is in recognition of First Capital Plus’ orientation to marketing & technological innovation, investment in Corporate Social Responsibility and strong financial performance. The citation accompanying the award read: "you were established barely 4 years ago and you have already become a household name in the financial services market. You set out a mission to be a committed and customer driven institution which provides effective, supportive and timely banking solutions to your customers, by which your stakeholders have evaluated you thus far". The citation continued; your state-of-art technology, manned by a dynamic and well-motivated staff has been the fillip that has spurred you on to this crowning moment. You are ranked number one with a 19 per cent share of the market in the Savings & Loans industry and 21st in the Universal Banking sector with 1.08 per cent of the market which has placed you among the leading providers of financial solutions in Ghana".

“Your hallmark remains your development of a cardless ATM solution with CoreNett to allow MTN and Airtel Money customers to withdraw money at your ATM without a card, the first of its kind in the nation”.

Commenting on the awards, the CEO of First Capital Plus; John Kofi Mensah thanked customers for their loyalty and attributed FCP’s phenomenal growth to the company’s quality and highly motivated human resource, technological innovation, professionalism, and most importantly the company’s core value of God-Centeredness.

He added; “we will not rest on our oars, but we will continue to evolve and innovate in our quest to consistently offer the best of customer-focused solutions”. Head of Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Nana Yaw Kesse also noted that the recognition by a highly reputable organization like CIMG places a higher level of responsibility on the company for which the company is geared up for.

“This award confers higher responsibilities on the company and as such we will consistently strive to exceed the higher standards expected from us in the financial services industry and also seek to consistently invest in the society and alleviate poverty through holistic financial, logistical and technical support for women and children in deprived communities .” he stated. First Capital Plus (FCP) is a wholly-owned Ghanaian Savings & Loans Company that was established in 2009 with the vision of becoming the leading provider of banking solutions in Africa. FCP’s strategic focus is to provide timely and relevant financial solutions to the SME market.

First Capital Plus is noted for innovation and it’s the first financial institution to introduce a deposit solution dubbed; SpeedBanking, which makes it possible for customers to deposit cash into their bank accounts anytime, anyday, anywhere through their mobile phones without having to visit the banking hall. In July, 2012 First Capital Plus achieved a phenomenal feat when it received a provisional universal banking licence after barely three years in operation as a Savings & Loans Company.

Currently, First Capital Plus has thirteen (13) operational branches in total and is poised to expand its branch network to twenty by mid 2014 as it prepares for strategic elevation in the financial services industry.