Idrissa Nassa, the chairman and chief executive of Coris Holding, sat down with Gabon transitional president, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, at the presidential palace in Libreville on 13 March 2025, in a meeting that could reshape the competitive landscape of banking in Central Africa.
At the centre of their discussions: whether Coris Bank International would open a subsidiary in Gabon or acquire an existing local institution — a signal that Africa own banking titans are increasingly writing the rules of continental finance.
A strategic push into Central Africa
The encounter, confirmed by the Gabonese presidency, follows a decade-long growth story that has turned a modest microfinance operation founded in Ouagadougou in 2008 — with just USD three million in starting capital — into a financial powerhouse now managing roughly USD nine billion in assets across more than 10 countries. Coris Bank International today holds nearly 10% of the market within the West African Economic and Monetary Union, making it the bloc’s third-largest banking group, with UEMOA rank placing it ahead of most regional peers.
“Impressed by the economic momentum driven by the Transitional President, the Coris Bank International group wishes to support Gabon and contribute to the implementation of the Head of State’s development programme.”
— Gabonese Presidency communiqué, March 2025
Targeting underserved small businesses
Nassa, who was named Africa CEO of the Year at the 2025 Africa CEO Forum, told the Gabonese leader he envisions the bank becoming a reference institution for small and medium enterprises across the country — a segment long underserved by the region’s predominantly large, foreign-owned lenders.
The bank’s model of targeting micro, small and medium enterprises has proven effective across West Africa and, since January 2024, in Chad, where Coris completed the acquisition of Société Générale local subsidiary, broadening its reach into Central Africa and establishing a foothold for MSMEs financing in the sub-region.
Coris Bank International — key facts
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- Founded: 2008, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Starting capital: USD three million (now manages approx. USD nine billion in assets)
- Presence: 11+ countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Guinea, Chad and Cape Verde
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- UEMOA rank: Third-largest banking group, approx. 10% market share
- Recent deal: Acquired Société Générale Chad, January 2024
- Investor backing: EUR 100 million raised from Dutch Development Bank, British International Investment, BIO and others in 2025
Gabon opens the door to new investors
Gabon transitional government, which came to power following the August 2023 coup that removed former President Ali Bongo Ondimba, has made attracting foreign investment a cornerstone of its legitimacy-building strategy. Oligui Nguema’s administration welcomed Nassa’s overtures, framing the planned bank entry as evidence that investors are gaining confidence in the country’s reformed business climate — no small endorsement for a government still seeking international recognition.
If the expansion materialises, it would introduce fresh competition into a Gabonese banking sector currently dominated by French-linked institutions and a handful of pan-African lenders. A new entrant focused on MSMEs lending could widen access to credit, put downward pressure on lending rates and create employment — both directly within bank branches and indirectly through the businesses it finances. Gabonese authorities also highlighted skills development and support for government-designated strategic sectors as potential benefits.
A continent-wide expansion drive
The Libreville visit fits into a broader and well-resourced expansion drive. In late 2025, Coris Holding secured EUR 100 million — about USD 116 million — from an international investor consortium that includes the Dutch Development Bank, British International Investment and Belgium BIO, co-led by Mediterrania Capital Partners. The group has publicly flagged Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Madagascar and Cape Verde as its next target markets.
Gabon entry into that list makes geographic sense: the country sits at the heart of the six-nation Central African Economic and Monetary Community, and Nassa has made clear his ambition to replicate in Central Africa what Coris built in West Africa. Coris Bank subsequent moves in CEMAC will be closely watched by investors and financial regulators alike.
Setbacks fuel appetite for growth
The bank’s bid to acquire Société Générale Cameroonian arm was ultimately blocked by local regulators, but the setback appears to have sharpened, rather than blunted, Nassa’s appetite for the sub-region. Gabon — with a relatively small but oil-backed economy and an administration eager to signal openness — may offer a more navigable entry point into CEMAC than its larger neighbour.
For African banking watchers, the symbolism cuts deeper than any single balance sheet. A Burkinabe-founded institution, built without a French parent company or a multilateral backstop, is now knocking on doors across the continent on its own terms. Whether Coris Bank ultimately opens a branch in Libreville or swallows an existing lender, the direction of travel in African finance — southward and inward — appears increasingly clear.
