Capital is provided to emphasize commitment to a long term partnership and to enable the
bank to grow and strengthen their business. Rabo Development always remains a minority
shareholder in these banks and acts as engaged board member, rather than acting as a
controlling majority shareholder. The banks therefore remain domestically-owned.
Management and technical assistance are focused on providing know how to the partner
banks in many areas such as IT, risk, products and governance. With these forms of assistance,
Rabo Development aims to support these banks in their development towards becoming
leading, sustainable local retail banks with a rural orientation and retail client focus.
At the start of 2013, Rabo Development had seven partnerships with banks located in Tanzania,
China, Zambia, Mozambique, Paraguay, Rwanda and Brazil. In 2013, Rabo Development was
able to form its eighth partnership with DFCU Bank in Uganda. DFCU Bank is the sixth largest
bank in the country and is currently a typical SME-oriented bank. The strategy for the coming
years is to have a strong focus on retail activities. In addition, a specialized department will be
set up to finance the agricultural sector. A five-year technical assistance program for DFCU has
been agreed upon, involving also the Netherlands embassy in Uganda as a stakeholder, to be
able to support the bank in its development. More in general, Rabo development fosters its
relationships with other stakeholders, such as local governments, NGOs and the
Netherlands Government.
Bank
Country
Stake
Offices
Employees
Customers
(x1,000)
National Microfinance Bank
Tanzania
35
152
2,860
1,481
United Rural Cooperative Bank of Hangzhou
China
9
144
2,146
1,906
Zambia National Commercial Bank
Zambia
46
64
1,643
619
BancoTerra
Mozambique
45
9
157
37
Banco Regional
Paraguay
40
38
711
76
Banque Populaire du Rwanda
Rwanda
35
191
1,450
285
Banco Cooperativo Sicredi*
Brazil
19
1,249
16,258
2,502
Development Finance Company of Uganda
Uganda
28
32
665
133
Total
1,879
25,890
7,039
The numbers for Banco Cooperativo National Microfinance Bank (NMB) in Tanzania, a partner bank of Rabo Development since 2005,
Sicredi are based on the total is an example of a successful partner bank when it comes to financial inclusion. In 2013, it has
cooperative organisation. introduced a new type of account targeting the unbanked in Tanzania. NMB also teamed up with
Vodacom, which will provide banking services for NMB customers through its 40,000 M-Pesa
agents.These are mainly small shops, but also supermarkets and petrol stations, which sell
mobile phone airtime and offer financial services via customers' mobile phones. Through these
agents, which are often located closer to them than a branch office, NMB customers can now
also access their NMB account.
Sicredi, the partner bank of Rabo Development in Brazil, is a cooperative financial institution
that is committed to the social and economic development of its members and the community.
Sicredi clearly contributes to financial inclusion, especially in more than 200 cities, where it is
the only financial institution in operation to date. In these cities, Sicredi offers financial services
to around 250,000 members.
Banco Regional, another partner bank, has been awarded the title of'Best Bank of Paraguay 2013'
by Euromoney. Strong personal relationships with customers and good knowledge of agricultural
processes have been key to the bank's success.
56 Annual Report 2013 Rabobank Group
