LeapFrog Investments has acquired a 16.94% stake in Ghana’s largest privately-owned bank, Fidelity Bank Ghana, from Amethis and Edmond de Rothschild Equity Strategies (ERES).

Karima Ola, Partner and Leader of African Financial Services Investments at LeapFrog, said: “We are thrilled to embark on this next phase of growth with Fidelity Bank. We are partnering with and supporting an industry leading, highly experienced management team with a strong track record of delivering profitable growth for this Tier-1 home-grown bank.  Moreover, Fidelity Bank’s “Inclusive Banking” and “Building Lives Through Finance” initiatives strongly align with LeapFrog's impact, sustainability and performance strategy.”

“With LeapFrog's robust expertise in financial services and impact measurement and reporting, we look forward to leveraging our combined capabilities to accelerate Fidelity Bank’s sustainable and profitable growth. LeapFrog will support the bank’s leadership team to deliver on its growth and innovation agenda through customer insights, digital transformation, governance, and partnerships.”

Following the investment from Amethis and ERES in 2014, Fidelity Bank embarked on an expansion drive via the acquisition of Pro-Credit Savings and Loans to widen its network across the country and solidify its presence in the SME and micro-business sector.

The Bank also established a state-of-the-art customer contact centre and upgraded its technological platforms to best-in-class standard through a collaboration with IBM.

The Tier-1 universal Bank now offers a full suite of transactional, lending and banking services, positioning itself alongside international banks as one of the top financial institutions in Ghana.

The Bank operates 75 branches across Ghana and serves approximately two million customers.

In collaboration with Amethis and ERES as well as other investment partners, Fidelity Bank has emerged as a leader in digital innovation and financial inclusion.

It is expected that LeapFrog’s involvement will mark a new chapter of continued growth and further success for Ghana’s largest privately-owned Bank.

Laurent Demey, Managing Partner at Amethis, added, "We are proud to have supported a successful and leading bank like Fidelity over the years. The journey has been rewarding thanks to the vision of Edward and his team. We are grateful that we could partner with other investors like Africa Capital, LLC to be part of the growth story of Fidelity. We wish them the best and encourage them to remain driven by the ambition to serve their clients.”

Edward Effah, Chairman of Fidelity Bank, added: “Amethis and ERES have played a pivotal role in the success and growth of Fidelity Bank. We are grateful for their support and their unwavering belief in the potential of Fidelity Bank. We look forward to working with LeapFrog Investments to build on the strong foundation that we created with Amethis and ERES.”

PwC acted as financial advisor to Amethis and ERES while KPMG advised LeapFrog.