Advans Ghana has supported 125 schools as part of its Back-to-School Campaign to lessen the financial burden of repayment of loans by these schools by providing a more flexible and extended payment system without increasing interests.
Located in the Greater Accra region, Kumasi, Tamale and Ho, these schools have benefited from various crisis mitigation strategies. From proposing a grace period from March 2020 to January 2021, with nearly zero extra cost.
Introduced in October 2020, The Back-to-School Campaign was also extended to parents and individual assessment, tailor-made support including loan rescheduling and refinancing top ups.
It is also meant to encourage the act of savings amongst the public and clients towards their wards’ school fees in view of the re-opening of schools in January. Subscribers of the Back to School Campaign have been given an instant cash back on initial deposit, an attractive interest rate with a pending upward adjustment for parents who would want to continue afterwards. Advans also introduced giveaways made up of free stationery items to 20 top depositors of all branches worth GHC10,000.
In his address to the media, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Francis Owiredu noted that Advans Ghana saw the need to support and protect the businesses of their clients as a required duty and a responsibility.
He assured that Advans Ghana will constantly monitor the school’s situation to ensure business continuity and maintain the quality level of the education that these institutions offer to their students.
He emphasized that Advans Ghana will also provide meaningful alternative access to funds for parents to fend for their wards’ school fees in order not to divert business loans to meet these needs or take funds from their businesses.
Although he acknowledged the impact of COVID-19, Francis Owiredu shared on the importance of developing the habit of saving for schools fees in order to prevent losses which could disrupt their businesses.
“We are excited about this because although we did this ‘Back to School’ promo out of goodwill, we have also benefited directly with more than 1,220 new savings accounts were created”, He expressed.
Mr. Owiredu added that “As we all know, investing in good quality education is a key necessity for the sustained development and welfare of a society. Unfortunately, with the spread of COVID19, the sector has been one of the most impacted. Amongst the many policies the Government had to introduce to limit the spread of the virus was the closure of all levels of schools back in April 2020. The consequences of such measure has not only affected students but also dramatically impacted the economic activity of the sector. That is why we have seen the need to support the actors contributing to Ghana’s education by tailoring our approach to lessening their financial burden throughout the entire year.”
He revealed that: “Last week the Management of the institution called the top 20 depositors of each branch and surprised them at their various business centers with free stationery goodies.”
Francis Owiredu assured that The Back-to-School Campaign has come to stay and Advans is already developing new innovative products to keep supporting the educational sector.
Advans Ghana
Advans Ghana Savings and Loans is a subsidiary of the Advans Group head-quartered in Paris with presence in nine countries in Africa and Asia, and serving more than 1 million clients. In Ghana, Advans operates in twenty branches across eight regions with the head office located in Accra-Newtown. Advans Ghana’s mission is to provide client centric financial services to small businesses and under-served populations in a sustainable and responsible manner.
