Access Bank Ghana Limited says Ghanaians with viable business plans to venture the emerging oil industry can access funding from the bank to play in the sector. Head of Commercial and Consumer Banking, Benjamin Nii Kpani Addy says the bank’s oil and gas business solution is designed to serve needs of small business owners and large corporations. Access Bank is one of the most capitalized banks in the industry, with shareholders fund in excess of US$60 million. The bank is reputed to be one of the fastest growing in Ghana, chalking growth rates in profitability and key financial indicators over the last two years. According to Mr. Addy, the business strategy of Access Bank allows everyone the opportunity to access financial solutions based on a value-chain model. “Oil business is a very expensive business and so it needs a lot of money and Access Bank is a bank with enough capital; we have capital in excess of Gh80 million, that gives us the muscle to be able to do such big businesses. So we’re very much ready for the oil business, both upstream and downstream”, Mr. Addy told Luv Biz Report at the official opening of the Kumasi branch of Access Bank. The Kumasi operation is Access Bank’s 5th successive branch to be opened since the bank was officially launched in 2009. Country Managing Director, Yomi Akapo, whose speech was read for him, stated that the bank’s expansion to the Kumasi market “aligns with our corporate expansion plan which is premised on intelligent branch expansion with the ultimate aim to serve the public. With the increasing sophistication of today’s customer, we believe that we can serve a host of customers using electronic banking services that allow them conduct banking transactions conveniently from their homes, offices, or when on the move.” Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah challenged the bank to be proactive in reaching out to the unbanked population to help strengthen the business environment.