*    Reliance Financial Services is about to celebrate its third year in the financial industry. Looking back on the years from inception date, how do you reflect on Reliance's achievements?

In December 2009, Reliance Financial Services will be c  elebrating its third anniversary. This period will also mark its transition from an emerging bank into the most efficient established operator in its chosen markets.
Reliance has built a solid business which is more  comprehensive than any other Micro Finance Company   covering the following:
*     Micro and small business lending;
*     Deposit mobilisation, including the offer of checking facilities
*     International and Domestic Money Transfer partnering with Western Union as  the 4th Direct Agent in The Gambia; and
*     Retail Foreign Exchange.

Based on the above platform the Company now stands as one of the most noticeable brands in the financial services sector.  

 Reliance Financial Services is now the premier Non Bank Financial Institution by:
*     Balance Sheet size;
*     Loans and Deposit base;
*     Network size covering all the administrative regions of the country;  
*     Number of employees; and more importantly
*     Number of active savers which as at end June 2009 was over 33,000 clients.
*    The global financial crisis has affected many institutions and businesses around the world. In The Gambia, we have seen an increase in the number of Banks. How does RFS intend to position itself in the face of these global and national challenges?

This period of establishment has not been easy as it coincided with the financial crisis which has affected financial institutions globally.  Nationally, the financial services landscape also witnessed an unprecedented change with the number of commercial banks increasing from 7 to 14 including 5 setting up from scratch.  

At the micro level, the Rural Finance Project was extended for another 5 years with additional funding of USD8.7 million for the institutional and capacity building of the existing Financial Companies and the Village Savings and Credit Associations (VISACAs) as well as the Technical Services Providers (TSPs).  All of the above has resulted in a 25% increase in national savings, which is 4 times more than the GDP growth rate.  However, access to credit by micro-enterprises and small businesses continues to be a major challenge for most and this presents opportunities to national players wiling to work with operators in this sector.   Access to micro credit still remains relatively untapped.

Given the above and the prevailing environment, with the support of the Shareholders particularly the two institutional investors ShoreCap International and Triodos Stitching Doen, the Board and Management will be strategically repositioning the Company to take advantage of the market opportunities in the medium to long term.  

*    Specifically, what strategies will be pursued to achieve this transformation?
Firstly, we are refocusing our business as a microfinance company serving Micro businesses and individuals as well as the Small and medium business sector.  The ordinary Gambian is our target market.  This will require significant changes in our culture and organisational structures. 

Secondly, we are refining our strategies and business model to become more efficient in how we serve our target clients. In some areas we will be using a reduced physical network to enable our staff to use modern and smart technologies to further get closer to our customers.  

Thirdly, we will relocate our head offices closer to our customers, and ensure that our organisation and management structures as well as our staff profiles are appropriate for our target customers.

*    What will be the overall impact of these changes to your major stakeholders?
The overall impact of the above changes is to have a more customer centric microfinance company with a lean and efficient cost structure. This will enable us to continue to further invest in the areas that matter most to our microfinance clients such as product development and mode of delivery, smart technologies and more importantly our people in terms training and development.  

The unbanked and under-banked market is the back bone of The Gambian economy; we will continue to improve our underwriting methodologies to deliver credits to the micro, and small businesses of The Gambia.  As a triple-bottom line Company, the achievement of financial, social and environmental performance goals is crucial to our vision and mission. All our objectives will be geared towards and measured against these ideals.
Reliance re-positioning to change Gambian lives!!