Banque de Gestion et de Financement

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Banque de Gestion et de Financement (BGF) is a private bank based in Bujumbura, Burundi. Its trade name is BGF, and its headquarters are at 30, Blvd de la Liberté. The chairperson is Daniella Nziyumvira and the CEO is Jean Marie Clair Gashubije. The bank’s website is bgf.bi.

BGF has its roots in SOGEFI (Société de Gestion et de Financement), founded in 1992 by a group of Burundian businessmen. On 1 April 1996, the group created BGF as a commercial bank, taking over SOGEFI’s assets. BGF offers standard banking services such as deposits and withdrawals, credit, currency exchange, investments, treasury, discounting of bills, commissions, and other related activities.

Capital and growth: In 1996, BGF’s capital was 600 million BIF and its equity 430 million BIF. The bank expanded to several provinces. By 2024 it had 9 offices in Bujumbura Mairie and 16 additional branches. In 2008, BGF employed 146 people across eight branches, with assets of 32.7 billion BIF, deposits of 22.7 billion BIF, and loans of 20.1 billion BIF. The bank served about 13,632 accounts, roughly 10% of Burundi’s total at that time.

Milestones: In April 2021, BGF celebrated its 25th anniversary in Bujumbura, with the vice-president of Burundi, Prosper Bazombanza, in attendance. By 2021, capital had risen to 27 billion BIF and equity to 33 billion BIF, and the bank remained wholly owned by Burundian private citizens.

Partnerships: Also in April 2021, the Trade and Development Fund of the TDB Group issued a 500 million BIF partial risk guarantee to WISE (Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment), a micro-finance institution founded in 2007. This allowed WISE to borrow up to 1 billion BIF from BGF to lend to women-owned small and medium enterprises, particularly in farming and trade.

Regulatory status: In 2024, BGF was approved by the Banque de la République du Burundi (BRB) as a Treasury Valuation Specialist, one of ten banks to receive this designation.