Societe Generale will allocate nearly €4bn ($4.34bn) of additional capital to Africa by 2016, aiming to accelerate its revenue growth to approximately 7% per year, according to the French banking group’s strategic plan.

Bernardo Sanchez Incera, Societe Generale Group's Deputy CEO, said Africa is one of the few regions that is growing rapidly.

“Africa offers a lot of growth opportunities and we aim to speed up our development in the years to come by leveraging on the strengths of our universal banking model, while also taking advantage of synergies to serve our business and individual customers and help them meet their goals on the continent,” he said.

By leveraging on the continent's high potential for economic growth and for increased banking penetration (less than 20% penetration in many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa), the group aims to accelerate its development by opening new subsidiaries (50-70 branches per year) and by making targeted acquisitions.

The bank recently announced its purchase of a majority stake in Mauritius Commercial Bank Mozambique.

The transaction is expected be completed by the end of July 2015 with the agreement of the country's national authorities.

The development of Societe Generale’s set-up is driven primarily in order to support clients and their projects in developing markets.

Present on the continent for over 100 years, the Group has developed a deep local expertise and a solid experience in supporting its business and personal clients.

The bank operates in 18 countries and has built a vast, continent-wide network with nearly 1,000 branches and more than 11,000 employees serving more than 3 million clients, including 150,000 businesses.

Societe Generale is progressively enhancing its range of universal banking services in Africa.

This already goes beyond traditional bank deposit and lending services and encompasses activities requiring international expertise, such as domestic and international cash management, factoring, leasing and structured financing, as well as market financing and hedging solutions, with teams based in Africa and Paris dedicated to African clients.

Loans to businesses have increased significantly since 2006, rising by 115% in the Mediterranean basin and by 56% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Societe Generale intends to maintain this momentum by enhancing its range of products and services for the corporate market by bolstering its capacities in this region at local level, in line with the evolving needs of its clients.

Alexandre Maymat, Head of the Africa/Asia/Mediterranean Basin and Overseas region, International Banking and Financial Services at Societe Generale, said: “After expanding constantly for more than a century, Societe Generale has become a major player in Africa.”

“We have built a solid, dynamic and efficient franchise and managed our risks well. This profitable, controlled growth strategy means our support for our clients meets the highest international standards. By following this trajectory, Societe Generale intends to strengthen its leadership and establish itself in Africa as the bank of reference for its clients and employees,” he said.