As Sierra Leone ushers in 2025, the Senior Staff Association (SSA) of Rokel Commercial Bank has delivered a heartfelt New Year message, extending appreciation and hope for the year ahead.
In their statement, the SSA commended the exemplary leadership of the bank’s Managing Director, Dr. Walton Gilpin COOR, whose visionary guidance has elevated Rokel Commercial Bank to a prominent position within Sierra Leone’s banking sector. They highlighted his dynamic approach as instrumental in achieving remarkable milestones over the past year.
The SSA also expressed gratitude to the Board of Directors, management, staff, and the bank’s loyal customers for their unwavering support and dedication, which have collectively contributed to the institution’s success.
Looking forward to 2025, the association emphasized its commitment to fostering growth, collaboration, and continued excellence within the bank and the broader financial sector.
Concluding the message, the SSA wished everyone a prosperous and successful New Year filled with opportunities and achievements.
HAPPY New Year to all from the Senior Staff Association of Rokel Commercial Bank!
As we come to the end of another eventful year, we will first celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus’s Christ and then the ushering in of a brand new year.
For Christians around the world, Christmas is a reinforcement of our faith through the birth of Jesus Christ and a time for joyful celebration for unto us, a king was born, it has remained one of the most significant events in the Christian Calendar. For non-Christians, Christmas is a celebration of love, kindness and sharing.
As we say thanks for your remarkable support this year, we remain committed to our core values of maintaining lasting and satisfying relationships with our customers, employees, shareholders and the communities we operate.
By touching the lives of people in these communities, we can make them feel more inclined to do account openings and carry out other financial transactions through the bank. They can also see the bank as a partner in development and business. As we thrust forward with increased profit and pay dividend to our shareholders, we improve our services to lead the banking sector and become a key player in the financial sector.
Some of our impressive highlights this year were the invitation to participate in important international events such as Intra Africa Trade Fair in Cairo, Egypt. The Trade Fair, one of the biggest in the world is a potential gateway for trade liberalization in the continent. In these events, RCBank leveraged on new and existing trade relations and networking opportunities for increased brand building.
With immense pride, we celebrate our astute Managing Director Dr. Ekundayo W. Gilpin (COOR) who is recognized with the prestigious award of “African Banker of the Year” by the UK based Reputation Poll International in December, 2023. Our support towards environmental protection has also not gone unnoticed with two prestigious awards from Shout Climate Change and we are the cover story in the UK Based Diaspora Focus Magazine 2023.
We have become significantly modernized and highly and highly securitized to make your banking the most pleasant experience. Today, our customers have the feel-good factor of sitting in the comfort of their homes to carry out banking transactions of all kinds. All this is made possible through the support you have given us since we launched an ambitious program to transform Rokel Commercial Bank from a loss making to a profit making as well as forward looking institution. Yes, our appetite to expand is insatiable! We have opened new branches, launched state of the art electronic banking products and services.
In this Christmas and the coming new year, we wish you more happiness and prosperity as we work together to remain your dependable bank, your own Kombra Bank of Choice!!!
Dr. Walton Ekundayo Gilpin, the Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank, has been honored as the African Banker of the Year at the Global Reputational & Fintech Award ceremony hosted by Reputation Poll International at London’s Marriott County Hall.
The Global Reputational Forum & Fintech and Award ceremony was hosted by Reputation Poll International on the 8th & 9th December, 2023 at the Marriott County Hall in London.
The event was staged to acknowledge rapid expansion, integration, accelerated growth, and reforms of Africa’s banking and financial sector. The event honored and celebrated outstanding Banks and Fintech Institutions that are moving Africa’s rapidly transforming the financial sector.
The first day of the event took the form of a symposium that featured four groups discussing different walks of life. Dr. Gilpin happened to be part of the banking sector group to discuss the digital transformation in the banking sector of Sierra Leone and Africa at large.
Key members of his team were adroit panelists like:
Peter Kolade Fashesin-Souza from Bank of England
Dr. Graham Bright from Euro Exim Bank
Mr. Olufemi Bakre from Paralex Bank Nigeria, and
Dr. Tony Ojobo – The lead panelist – President of the African ICT Foundation
Dr. Gilpin served as a moderator on the second day of the event that featured speeches and fire side chats with panelists like: 1. Her Excellency Atifete Jahjaga – First female president of Kosovo (2011-2016) 2. Dr. Yvonne Thompson – Founder WINTRADE GLOBAL 3. Dr. Rex Idaminabo – FRSA 4. Olori Atuwatse III – Queen of Warri Kingdom, Nigeria 5. Prof. Mthulincube – Ministry of Finance & Inv, Zimbabwe 6. Peter K. Fashesin-Souza – Head of IT, Security & Risk, Bank of England (HSBC) 7. Festus Akinbusoye – Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Dr Walton E. Gilpin impressed the high-level panelists of finance, economic experts and leaders on the 8th & 9th of December, 2023 deliberating on the operations of traditional banks in Africa and how they are embracing technology for enhanced customer experiences and operational efficiency.
Dr. Gilpin emerging as “African Banker of The Year” is a testament of the cutting edge strategies in the technological and innovative drive of RCBank to place itself among key players in the African Continental Innovation Drive.
The prodigious fulfillment of the Sierra Leone banking industry by the astute MD will always leave an indelible blueprint for many banking and other financial practitioners.
The Managing Director who is renowned for his flawless oratory and excellent skills of the financial industry explained effortlessly the intricacies and opportunities digitalization has brought to the continent’s banking industry, making reference to Rokel Commercial Bank which he said has diligently navigated through a tumultuous transition to become a leader in innovative digital banking in Sierra Leone.
Underscoring the challenges faced by banks especially in terms of their desire to serve the whole country versus the realities of coping with infrastructural shortfalls like insufficient mobile connectivity, the MD said banks would normally have to collaborate with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to ensure customers have access to financial services wherever possible. To this end and considering the fact that Sierra Leone is a cash based economy, RCBank has adopted several innovative ways to ensure customers access their services in almost every part of the country.
This type of plenary session is the dream of great bankers and financial practitioners who may want to develop their up-skills and want to be part of a team of highbrows. RCBank – The Bank of Choice!!!
In a recent interview on the popular “Good Morning Sierra Leone” program on Radio Democracy 98.1, the Central Bank Governor of Sierra Leone, Prof. Keifala Kallon addressed the redenomination of the Leone, clarifying key points and provided insights into the rationale behind the currency reset.
Prof. Kallon started by denying claims that he had promised the redenomination would raise the exchange value of the Leone. He likened the process to resetting a virus-infected phone, where it starts anew but retains the same value. According to the governor, the redenomination was primarily done to reset the monetary system of the country, rather than to boost the exchange rate.
The governor acknowledged that the redenomination process faced political opposition from the start. He expressed his belief that some individuals worked against its success due to concerns that the government would benefit from it at their expense. He argued that redenomination is a technique used in various countries, particularly during hyperinflation, to encourage responsible spending by reducing the number of currency units.
Prof. Kallon pointed out that some factors, beyond their control, played a significant role in the post-redenomination dynamics of Leones’ exchange rate. He mentioned the U.S. central bank’s monetary policy, which led to an increased demand for the U.S. dollar, causing the dollar to appreciate against the Leone. This, he emphasized, was a key issue that occurred after the redenomination.
The governor explained that the initial plan was to have both the new and old currency coexist for some time before phasing out the old Leone notes. However, the volume of unused old Leone notes returned to the bank exceeded expectations, leading to an extension of the dual currency system. Prof. Kallon argued that the extension was necessary to prevent a crisis similar to the one experienced in Nigeria.
When questioned about the timing of printing new currency, Prof. Kallon admitted that the timing was not ideal. He attributed the decision to print new Leone notes to hoarding of the old currency, which exceeded their estimates. The government resorted to printing new currency due to the overwhelming amount of old Leone notes in circulation.
In response to whether the redenomination strategy had failed, the governor disagreed. He questioned the assertion that redenomination had caused exchange rate depreciation, pointing out that even countries that did not undergo redenomination faced economic challenges. Prof. Kallon emphasized the fundamental economic principle that everything comes at a cost and that various factors influence exchange rates.
One of Sierra Leone’s male models and ex-housemate Salone contestant Alimamy Sall Kamara popularly known as (Almon Sall) has been nominated as best African Fashion Model of the Year 2023 by the African Fashion Desingers Awards.
Almon Sall has represented Sierra Leone on international stages and he is reportedly the first Sierra Leonean model to be nominated for the award and was nominated among different Africans models.
Almon has called on his fans and Sierra Leoneans to support him win the award by voting endlessly for him.
The African Fashion Designer Awards is a fashion exhibition event that showcases Fashion through creative designers by allowing them to display their talent thereby boosting their confidence.
The African Fashion Awards is to raise the profile of African Fashion Creatives in the Global Fashion Industry ensuring that they are featured and considered as serious contributors in the global marketplace.
