GROWING THE SEED
| SARATA KONE
Through our network
of 19 subsidiaries
we can assist any
business partner
wanting to do
business in Cote
d’Ivoire.”
24 •
The Lion King
• July - September 2016
COTE D’IVOIRE’S RAPID GROWTH IS
HAVING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON UBA
S
ara Kone says she has had a “blessed and exciting journey” through life. After reading Economics in Canada,
she decided to come back home (Cote d’Ivoire) after her masters’ degree with a clear plan to work at the
Central Bank. But by what she considers a divine twist, she started an internship with Citibank (now Citi) in
Abidjan, and this was how her now 20-year long career in the banking industry started. In between the period, she
has moved from risk management into business development and is now saddled with the huge responsibility of
leading UBA’s operations in Cote d’Ivoire. In this interview with LKM, she speaks about herself, her job and her
country.
SARATA KONE
MD/CEO, UBA COTE D’IVOIRE
How does being the MD/CEO of a
bank feel?
I cannot really describe such feeling.
It is a great cocktail of excitement,
great challenge ahead, fear of failure
and great humility as this is a real TEAM
effort, still getting to make out which
is the most dominant. But they are all
needed to keep me focused on the
end goal of success.
How have you dealt with the pressure
that comes with this position?
Please let me know once you get the
formula. Seriously, I don’t know if one
can comfortably say they have a way
of dealing with pressure. I take it one
day at a time and one issue after the
other. At project C1st we called it Nice
Bridges; we overcome the issues as
we cross bridges. Obviously when the
pressure builds up, I breathe slowly and
remain calm. No need to panic, it will
only make things worse. I just remain
focused on the goal and ensure I take
the best possible decision given the
circumstances. I seek advice as and
when needed to ensure I get different
perspectives to the same issue. Then
trust yourself and your intuition that is
made up of all my past experiences.
Cote d’Ivoire is now one of Africa’s
fastest growing economies, how is this
impacting on the bank’s business in
the country?
The impact is very positive for the
bank as naturally we are seeing an
increased level of transactions from
our existing clients. We are also seeing
an increased number of referrals from
our Group colleagues and from our
clients for new companies establishing
themselves in CDI and wanting to do
business with UBA CDI.
What are the growth sectors in Cote
d’Ivoire?
Most of our countries follow the
same pattern and Cote d’Ivoire is no
different. The country’s consistent 9%
GDP growth since 2012 was based
on three key sectors: 1- Agriculture
which remains the main source of
export and the largest employer (2/3
of active population) in the country.
2 - With the returned stability and
the post crisis need to rebuild the
country, infrastructure comprising
roads, transport and commercial
construction is growing. 3 - The boom
of technology and innovations in
digital era combined with mobile
money boom has made the Telecom
sector very attractive.
What is the banking industry like in
Cote d’Ivoire?
The Ivorian banking industry, growing
at a pace of 25%, is the largest in the
Monetary Union with a total balance
sheet size of USD13bn. It is attracting
new entrants, with Standard Bank of
South Africa recently coming; there will
be 26 banks on the market making it
very competitive and diversified. Whilst
it used to be dominated by French
banking groups, only two remain now.
We have seen the aggressive invasion
of the Moroccan banking groups with
three operating in the country and
ranking within the top eight banks.
There are two pan-African banks (UBA
being one of them) and about three
to four regional banks, as they are
established in 4 to 5 countries. There
are two other banks that have a
Nigerian shareholding structure. In
Cote d’Ivoire, contrary to the Nigerian
BY ANTHONY OSAE-BROWN
