Our Bank Different Philosophy
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Customer-Focus
At the heart of everything we do are our clients’ interests. We believe in nurturing a privileged relationship with you; one that is powered by our agility, creativity and innovativeness in striving for customer service excellence.
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Teamwork
We are committed to deliver on our “Bank Different” promise by combining our entrepreneurial mindset with our people’s unique strengths. Together, we work as one team with a common vision for success.
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Innovation
Our digital transformation journey is underpinned by a set of forward-looking initiatives that combine market knowledge with cutting-edge technology; this is how we tailor innovative banking solutions to help you achieve your financial goals.
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Sustainability
We have a three-pronged sustainability strategy focussed on People, Planet and Profit. Sustainability is embedded in all spheres of our business practices with the aim to meaningfully optimise our impact in the communities we operate.
2007
- AfrAsia Bank sees the light of the day in a National Heritage building in the heart of the capital city, Port Louis.
2008
- AfrAsia Bank launched the very first AfrAsia Titanium Mastercard credit card in Mauritius.
- AfrAsia Bank launched the Capital Protected Foreign Currency & Rupee Structured Investment Product, one of the most innovative set of products crafted by AfrAsia Investments Limited in partnership with JPMorgan and AXYS/ACMS Fund Management Ltd.
2009
- We were the first local Bank to have acquired a Foreign Institutional (FII) Investor License to facilitate global business flows into India.
- A first for Mauritius, AfrAsia Bank partners with British Airways to launch the first credit card mileage programme, ‘FLY DIFFERENT!’ to offer all Titanium credit cardholders the exclusivity to earn BA Miles for reward flights or cabin upgrades under the British Airways Executive Club.
2010
- To expand our physical footprint in Africa and reinforce our reach across the continent, we opened our Johannesburg office in South Africa.
2011
- AfrAsia Bank launched the AfrAsia Global Custody Services.
- AfrAsia Bank announced its sponsorship of the AfrAsia Golf Masters 2011, a unique and prestigious golf event held at Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita, from 13 to 17 December 2011.
2012
- AfrAsia Bank was the title sponsor of the 9th edition of the AfrAsia Tecoma Awards.
- The opening of the AfrAsia World of Art in collaboration with 3A, the Excellence of Art Gallery to provide a platform to local and international artists to share their passion with our clients.
- AfrAsia Bank launched the AfrAsia World Mastercard Credit Card, the most premium card on the market.
- Underpinned by its commitment to nurture the golf passion of its clients, AfrAsia launched the AfrAsia World of Golf at Forbach, offering a perfect spot to practice golf swings.
2013
- AfrAsia pioneered the AfrAsia XtraMiles, a one-of-its-kind loyalty programme to offer its World and Titanium credit cardholders the possibility to redeem their accumulated points against flights, hotel stays and car rentals worldwide.
2014
- National Bank of Canada embarked on the Bank Different journey as a new major shareholder.
- AfrAsia Bank opened its second branch on the Island in Ebene whilst embracing the concept of a “digital branch”.
- AfrAsia Bank is enlisted as one of the five Systemically Important Banks in Mauritius by the Central Bank.
2015
- The Bank embarked a new journey as a title sponsor for the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open – the first worldwide tri-sanctioned tournament endorsed by the European, Sunshine and Asian Tours offering a prize purse of EUR 1m.
- AfrAsia Bank launched the first Visa Platinum Prepaid Card in Mauritius.
2016
- AfrAsia Bank joined the United Nations Global Compact Network, the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative, to portray its commitment to adopt sustainable and socially-responsible policies as well as reporting on the advances made in this respect.
- AfrAsia Bank is accredited by the Bank of Mauritius as a Primary Dealer under the Primary Dealer Operational Framework which aims to explore and develop a competitive, liquid and sophisticated local financial market in the trading of Government Securities in Mauritius.
2017
- Underpinned by its commitment to give back to the communities in which it operates, AfrAsia Bank launched the AfrAsia Foundation with three key pillars: Education, Health and Environmental welfare.
- With the aim to lift the veil of poverty from society, the AfrAsia School was launched to offer a lifelong learning opportunity to underprivileged children.
2018
- AfrAsia Bank adopted the contactless technology and launched on the market the first contactless credit card in Mauritius.
- In line with its Sustainability Strategy, the Bank pioneered the AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit in October 2018, a first on the Mauritian corporate landscape. With its core theme “Translating the SDGs into your Business”, the summit aimed to trigger a staunch public-private sector collaboration and highlight how interorganisational cooperation can drive the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event welcomed participants from Africa, Asia and Europe as well as eminent experts from UN and Commonwealth.
2019
- After merely 12 years of operations, AfrAsia crossed the Rs.1bn bar of Net Profit After Tax.
- AfrAsia Bank was the first Mauritian Bank to join the Global Reporting Initiative Community.
- The second edition of the AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit welcomed more than 310 participants from 16 countries around a discussion on how to promote the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. During the summit, we launched the AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Awards to reward local companies with the best sustainable business practices.
2020
- As a founding member, AfrAsia Bank powered the institution of the Global Compact Network (Mauritius) Foundation on the Island.
- Believers in Local Initiative – Under the aegis of our new brand campaign, ‘The Believers’, we organised a series of Local Markets to help our entrepreneurs rebuild their businesses.
- 20 Min with AfrAsia – we launched our webinar series exploring topical subjects such as ESGs and wealth management, amongst others.
- A first for Africa and Mauritius, AfrAsia Bank was internationally acclaimed as a Platinum Winner by MarCom awards for its 'The Believers' campaign
2021
- Elliott Wave International Certification - 2 AfrAsians earned the prestigious designation and joined the elite group of technical analysts, a first for Mauritius.
- Virtual Lifestyle events – AfrAsia launched a Virtual Lifestyle Events Series with Culinary Masterclasses and Virtual Rum Tastings for its clients.
- AfrAsia Tower – AfrAsia announces the forthcoming launch of its LEED certified 15-storey AfrAsia Tower in Tribeca Central Smart City.
2022
- We celebrated our 15th anniversary of “Banking Different” and the AfrAsia Foundation celebrates its 5th anniversary.
- Our South African Representative Office (SAREPO) secured the Financial Services Provider Category 1 Intermediary & Advisory license from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa. This license enables SAREPO to offer international financial solutions to high-net-worth individuals, asset managers, management companies, corporates.
- AfrAsia Bank honoured as the Best Bank in Mauritius by Global Finance and its third Best Banking and Custody Provider: Global Custodian award by Africa Global Funds.
- Frenchman Antoine Rozner secures his first Sunshine Tour and third DP World Tour win with a record five stroke victory, acing a 19 under par - the biggest margin of victory in the six editions of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open
Meet Our Veterans
From the get-go, we believed in one vision...that of connecting people, places and possibilities irrespective of their geographical standing. How? By being THE economic corridor between Africa and Asia. This vision, our pioneers wanted it to be in our name and that’s how ‘AfrAsia’ came to be! We knew it was not going to be an easy feat. But for us, the business was not going to be built by wearing suits and attending fancy dinners. It was going to take our sweat and blood and it did! For the past 15 years, we’ve stayed true to our founding vision and bridged local, regional and international markets through our unique business model. Why unique? Simply because, whilst others focused on their offerings, from the very beginning, we focused on building a privileged relationship with our clients; one which each one of our then-40 team players fulfilled with genuineness, passion and an innovative mindset – values, which now, our 400+ AfrAsians have imbibed in their DNA. And, as a founder member, I could not be prouder of same!
Thierry Vallet,
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer
As soon as I signed my contract on my very first day, Rouben Chocalingum, our then Head of Domestic Sales, taught me my very first AfrAsian lesson: our name, “AfrAsia”, portrays our aim to bring together Africa and Asia - a foundation we absolutely had to have so as to work towards the same goal as one team. Day by day, we started getting the groove of it and paved our way to build our Bank. Then, one day, our founder CEO, James Benoit, called us in his office. On the table laid some glasses of champagne and I wondered what suddenly called for a celebration? “We finally have our banking license in hand!”, cheerily announced James. Everyone started to toast to the news enthusiastically but that was when, I realised that the Bank I joined was not yet a Bank prior to that day. Back then, I took a leap of faith and today, I have so many cherished memories: Jamesh’s and Samuel’s ways of saying things that led to innumerable confusions but also engendered loads of “fou rires” and our then all-time favourite prank on the newcomers: “Our attic is haunted”. Awesome memories that brings a smile on my face even today.
Vijaya Bhiwajee,
Relationship Manager
Relationship Manager
What do you do when someone tells you to jump on the bandwagon…but there’s no bandwagon to start with? That’s when you’re called to trust your instinct and anchor your decision on the potential of a great vision - even if it were merely on paper back then – the ambition of some founder members to achieve this vision and the learning and growth that choosing this path brings along. It’s a belief that you would not just be a number, but your contribution in paving the road to success will be significant…it all made sense to me 14 years ago and still does today.
Frederick Baya,
Deputy Head of Marketing
Deputy Head of Marketing
Sailing down memory lane
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