The inclusive finance organisation’s latest appointment of Ato Okyir as Group Head of New Ventures (Technology Innovation), reiterates Letshego’s commitment to cementing Ghana as a valuable sub-regional hub for talent and expertise.
Letshego Africa, with a presence in 11 countries across sub Saharan Africa, is supporting the growth of its regional strategy by creating three sub-regional hubs to host talent, regional operations and specialist digital expertise – these hubs being Botswana, Kenya and Ghana.
The inclusive finance organisation acquired the Ghana business in 2017, and has since transitioned the operations to the Letshego brand, committing further investment into digitalisation, systems and expansion of products for the benefit of individuals and small and micro entrepreneurs across Ghana.
Letshego recognises Ghana as a valuable source of talent for the Group, with their latest regional appointment being Mr Ato Okyir as Group Head of New Ventures (Technology Innovation).
Prior to joining Letshego, Ato Okyir was the Chief Information Officer for Standard Chartered Ghana, starting his expansive technology focused career in 1993. Ato brings fifteen years of banking technology experience from across the continent. As the Chief Information Officer for Standard Chartered, he maintained the Bank’s technology infrastructure capability and supported business activities across all business segments. He also assured compliance oversight for all country and Standard Chartered Group policies, statutory regulations, local banking laws, anti-money laundering regulations and industry practices.
Marking the appointment, Andrew Okai, the Group’s Chief Executive added “Ghana is one of our largest profit generating centres, so it makes sense that we leverage the regional expertise and talent available locally, not only for the benefit of our local business and subsidiary, but also for the Group as a whole. Letshego recognises that cultural diversity in a pan-African organisation is an asset and an advantage – we are delighted to have Ato join our regional family. His digital and tech experience will prove invaluable as we achieve our ambition to be a leading digital-first, inclusive finance organisation across the continent.”
Letshego Africa recently announced its Transformation Strategy, that includes a tactical roadmap to achieve its 2025 ambitions and vision to be a world-class retail financial services organisation, spurred by digitalisation along with strategic investment into empowering and growing regional talent. In 2021, Letshego rolled out the LetsGo Digital Mall, an online platform that enables customers easy access to solutions and services, across multiple digital channels, including web, USSD, whatsapp and mobile.
Commenting on his new appointment, Ato Okyir, Group Head of New Ventures for Technology Innovation, added, “Letshego is a well-established Africa brand that is on an exciting transformation trajectory into digital. I am delighted with the opportunity to bring my own skills and experience to support a regional organisation that has such a dynamic vision to achieve sustainable growth and impact across so many sub Saharan markets.”
Letshego Ghana, a subsidiary of Letshego Group, has more than demonstrated its strategic and potential value to the Group with a cumulative aggregated growth of 600% over the last 5 years, more than tripling its proportion of profit before tax in the same period.
Letshego Ghana
In Ghana, Letshego employs over 500 local nationals, with the business led by seasoned Ghanaian banker, Arnold Parker, Country CEO of Letshego Ghana. Letshego expanded into Ghana in 2017 through the acquisition of ‘afb Ghana’. Since the acquisition and under Arnold’s leadership, Letshego has diversified the entity’s product portfolio with the addition of MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprise) loans, retail and corporate deposits, as well as opening two new outlets to compliment the brand’s national, omni-channel network.
Speaking on the value of Ghana in Letshego’s regional footprint, Arnold Parker noted that Ghana is proving to be a valued talent pool for regional companies across diverse sectors. He added that Letshego is one of many regional entities that invest and support Ghana’s growth potential, while gaining benefit from the passion and expertise of its people. The Ghana team remain proud to be a part of a Group that is committed to supporting inclusive finance initiatives, supporting sustainable business and growth of communities in Ghana, and across our continent.
Letshego Ghana posted record national performance for 2020, more than doubling its profit before tax year on year to GHS40 million (USDXmillion).
Letshego Africa
Letshego Holdings Ltd (“Letshego Group”) is a truly African multinational organisation, headquartered and listed in Botswana and focused on delivering inclusive finance solutions to underserved populations across its 11 sub Saharan Africa footprint.
With a staff compliment of over 3,000 – including both direct and indirect sales agents – and more than four hundred thousand customers, Letshego is synonymous with leveraging innovation and technology to improve the lives of individuals who have limited access to traditional financial services.
The Letshego Group is a truly African multinational, first opening its doors in Botswana more than 21 years ago by offering loans to government employees. Today the Group has over 3,000 employees comprising more than 21 nationalities, and supports public and private sector individual customers, as well as micro and small entrepreneurs. Letshego has operations in 11 sub Saharan African markets.
Letshego Holdings Limited (the group holding company) is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange, with a subsequent listings including a subsidiary listing on the Namibian stock exchange, and bond listings on both the Ghana and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges.
In 2022, Letshego celebrates 24 years of supporting regional communities, making strong progress with the launch of its Transformational Strategy in September 2020, towards the Group’s vision to be a world class retail financial services organisation, improving the lives of mass and middle market individuals and micro and small entrepreneurs.
ATO OKYIR, Letshego’s Group Head of IT and Digital Ventures – Biography
Mr. J. Ato Okyir is the former Chief Information Officer for Standard Chartered Ghana, starting his expansive career in Technology in 1993. He brings on board fifteen years of Banking Technology Experience from across the Continent.
As the Chief Information Officer for Standard Chartered, he maintained the Bank’s Technology infrastructure capability and supported the business activities across Business segments. He also ensured total compliance with all Country and Group policies, statutory regulations, local banking laws, anti-money laundering regulations, and industry practices.
Before that, he led the company’s Country Technology Management in Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone. He was responsible for developing, implementing, and delivering the Group Technology Strategy for the Cluster.
Mr. Okyir played a pivotal role in Standard Chartered’s Business Process Reengineering and custody business integration as the Archway Project Manager – Infrastructure for Africa. He covered Kenya, Botswana, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mauritius.
He has also led Technology Risk Management and IT Security for Standard Chartered Bank in West and Central Africa. He successfully and effectively managed Information Technology risk and security controls to ensure Data Integrity, Data availability, confidentiality, and consistency of Standard Chartered databases and transaction processing systems.
Before joining Standard Chartered, he held various Information Technology roles at other companies, including Digitronix Systems, LeasAfric Ghana Limited, Agricultural Development Bank, and Electricity Company of Ghana.
Ato Okyir holds an MSc in Project Management from the University of Salford in the United Kingdom and a Post Graduate Diploma in Information Systems from Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom.
He has also undergone Professional training in Strategic & Scenario Planning in Accra, Business Management Programme (BMP) in Singapore, Talent Acceleration in the United Arab Emirates, and AWS & Microsoft Azure Cloud Practitioner by Skillsoft. He is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the British Computer Society (BCS), and the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA).
A Champion of Creativity and Innovation, and an effective communicator, Ato Okyir marries emotional intelligence and his passion for Technology to achieve positive results. He loves restoring vintage cars, long road trips, and sharing his life learnings with the younger generations.
