On his part, Equity Bank Tanzania Board Chairman, Eng. Raymond Mbilinyi, said “We are happy and humbled to be associated with one of Tanzania’s most decorated clubs. At Equity Bank, we partner with key stakeholders in the community to come up with products and services that serve their needs. This current partnership is proof of our mission to support all members of the society and in different sectors of the economy including some previously perceived high risk, due to lack of collateral and high costs of serving them. We have developed products and services which cater for all categories of customers be it corporates, SMES, institutions, parastatals, salaried and wage workers and farmers.”

Simba Club is banking on Equity’s 15 branches and 2500 Equity agents countrywide to issue as many Simba Fan Cards as possible. The Bank entered the Tanzanian market in 2015, at a time when Tanzania is experiencing significant transformation in the financial sector. Innovation is a key driver to deepening financial inclusion mainly driven by Agency banking, Merchant banking, ATMs, Online Banking and Mobile Banking.

Equity Bank Tanzania’s Managing Director, Robert Kiboti said, “Equity Bank has been on a digitization drive that has seen it launch the EazzyBanking suite of products a few years back with the objective of turning banking from somewhere you go to something you do. You don’t have to visit a branch to do your banking if you have the EazzyBanking App or Eazzy 24/7. The launch of the Simba Fan Card brings convenience to millions of Simba Club Fans, and we look forward to building this partnership for the benefit of the Simba Club Fans.”

Simba Sports Club is a Tanzanian football club which was founded in 1936 and is based in Msimbazi Street, Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam. Simba Sports Club is one of the two biggest football clubs in Tanzania.