Pan-African Savings and Loans Limited as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has organized a Business Advisory Workshop for 200 customers across three regions namely Greater Accra, Ashanti and Ahafo. This is to improve upon the customers entrepreneurial skills and help them grow their businesses.

The CSR programme instituted in October 2016 aims at training customers of Pan-African Savings and Loans on key issues such as how to run their businesses on daily basis and to equip them with basic knowledge on bookkeeping and accounting.

Mr. Kwaku D. Berchie, Chief Operating Officer Pan-African Savings and Loans/Facilitator, said the theme of the programme was chosen because his outfit realised how the absence of proper bookkeeping was affecting the business of its customers.

“For most of them, it is just about going to work and making sales but not accounting for monies that went out of the business. Usually this becomes problematic,” he said.

Mr. Berchie said the company ensures that corporate decisions take into consideration feedback from its customers. The business strategies reflect its customer orientation and include: developing products that are appreciated by customers; responding promptly and respectfully to customer complaints and queries; and dealing sensitively with customer issues.

Pan-African Savings and Loans as measure to deepen financial inclusion, has adopted the use of promotional campaigns over the years to reach out to the large number of unbanked and under-banked citizens in the vicinities within which it operates.

Pan-African is also leveraging on technology to achieve its corporate goals of making the financial sector relevant to the low-income earners and businesses. With the introduction of Quick, a mobile financial product, customers can now have access to their bank accounts with the company from any location at any time.

By simply accessing the short code *777#, one can access their accounts and is able to deposit, withdraw or transfer money to another person via their mobile wallets. This service also allows customers to access short term credit facilities as well as to top up their phone credits, among others.