What Rawbank does

Rawbank SA is the largest commercial bank in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, founded in 2002 as part of the Rawji Group (present in DRC since 1922) and headquartered at the ATRIUM building in Kinshasa. The bank operates more than 100 branches and 274 ATMs across all 19 DRC provinces, serving over 500,000 clients across retail individuals, SMEs, corporates and institutions, women entrepreneurs (Lady's First program), and diaspora Congolese. It holds a Moody's CAA1 rating and ISO/IEC 20000 and 27001 certifications, and has been the DRC's leading bank for 12 consecutive years, recognized by African Banker Awards in 2022 and 2024 and by The Banker Bank of the Year in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2016.

The bank's product set spans accounts, cards (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay China Card, Maximus Titanium), credit (cash credit, discount credit, term advances, leasing, Facturis, E-Line, Dedouanement, Lady's First), digital channels (Illicocash mobile app, RawbankOnline, PGS payment gateway, Optimus Client, SWIFT Light, Rawbot assistant, Rawards loyalty), and treasury/capital markets services. It generates revenue primarily from net interest income on its lending portfolio, transaction and commission fees (cards, ATMs, SWIFT transfers, FX), card fees and interchange, and trade finance.

Rawbank distributes through a hybrid model combining its physical branch and ATM network with digital self-serve channels, agent banking, and strategic development-finance partnerships (IFC, BII, Proparco, OPEC Fund, AfDB, Afreximbank, BADEA, TDB, Shelter Afrique, AGF) that co-finance SME lending. In March 2026 the bank secured a $25 million BII senior loan as part of a $265 million DFI co-financing package intended to extend financing to at least 1,500 additional SMEs, building on a prior $100 million Afreximbank facility from June 2024. Mustafa Rawji serves as General Manager, and the bank is privately held under the Rawji family group.

Name

Rawbank

Legal name

RAWBANK SA

Website

https://rawbank.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Rawbank SA is the largest commercial bank in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, operating 100+ branches and 274 ATMs across all 19 provinces to serve 500,000+ retail, SME, corporate, and diaspora clients with accounts, credit, cards, digital banking, and trade finance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (522110), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221), Credit Card Issuing (522210)

SIC

National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

Credit Cards & Revolving Credit (FSABAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Currency Accounts, Wallets & IBAN Services (FSAMAIAG), Commercial & Corporate Card Schemes (FSAMAAAF)

Keywords

• Retail banking services
• Commercial banking
• Digital banking
• SME lending
• Corporate treasury

Headquarters

HQ city

Kinshasa

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Net Interest Income (NII): Rawbank earns interest income from its lending portfolio, including term loans, overdraft facilities, discount credit, fixed advances, SME credit lines (Facturis, e-Line), and leasing. Interest rates range from 10% (Lady's First credit) to 12% (e-Line) annually. This constitutes the primary revenue driver for the DRC's largest commercial bank.
2. Transaction & Commission Fees: Fees earned on payment processing through the PGS gateway, ATM withdrawals, card transactions (Visa, Mastercard, China Card), wire transfers via SWIFT, and foreign exchange transactions. Includes merchant discount rates on card acceptance and commission on currency exchange.
3. Digital Banking Services: Revenue from digital services including mobile banking (Illicocash), online banking subscriptions, and PGS payment gateway transaction commissions. Digital platforms also drive cross-selling of credit products and account openings.
4. Card Income: Annual fees, issuance fees, and interchange income from the card portfolio including Visa, Mastercard, China Card (RMB prepaid), Maximus Titanium, and Lady's First Visa debit cards. Lady's First Visa costs $100/year, new PIN $10.
5. Trade Finance & Correspondent Banking: Fees from import/export financing, letters of credit, documentary credits, customs duty financing (Dedouanement Credit), and treasury operations. Optimus Client platform facilitates forex declaration management for trade clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rawbank is the largest commercial bank in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, providing comprehensive retail, SME, corporate, and institutional banking services across 100+ branches and 274 ATMs in 19 provinces. It offers deposit accounts, credit facilities (term loans, overdrafts, leasing, SME products), Visa/Mastercard/UnionPay cards, digital banking (Illicocash mobile app, RawbankOnline), payment gateway (PGS), treasury and trading room services, trade finance, and the Lady's First program for women entrepreneurs.

Product overview

Rawbank offers a unified banking platform combining core account services with a broad portfolio of digital, corporate, and specialized products. The core digital layer comprises RawbankOnline (web banking) and Illicocash (mobile app), which provide account management and access to ancillary services. Payment infrastructure spans Visa and MasterCard networks, Visa Direct, and the China Card (UnionPay). The merchant offering includes PGS (Payment Gateway Services) for online collections and Optimus Client for forex compliance. Corporate clients access Treasury Services, a Trading Room for capital markets, and credit facilities including Cash Credit, Discount Credit, Term Advances, E-Line, Facturis, and Dedouanement Credit. The Lady's First program targets women entrepreneurs with bundled banking and credit solutions. Ancillary offerings include the Rawards loyalty program, We Act CSR initiative, Kimia Diaspora insurance, and the Rawbot virtual assistant. The bank also provides SWIFT Light for large corporate clients and MoneyGram for remittances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lady's First: A program dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs in DRC with tailored financial products, preferential pricing, and lower interest rates on financing
• We Act
• RawbankOnline
• Illicocash
• Rawbot
• Rawards

Products and services

• RawbankOnline
• Illicocash
• Lady's First Program
• Visa Direct
• Maximus Titanium
• China Card
• Kimia Diaspora
• PGS (Payment Gateway Services)
• Optimus Client
• Alert Banking
• SIOP
• SWIFT Light
• Cash Credit
• Discount Credit
• Term Advance (ATF)
• Credit Bail Leasing
• E-Line Credit
• Facturis Credit
• Dedouanement Credit
• Lady's First Credit
• Treasury Services
• Trading Room
• Rawards Loyalty Program
• Visa Lady's First Debit Card

Quantifiable outcome

• 9% increase in annual profit reported in 2026
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• VisacoreTechnology or Integration · 18 December 2025Rawbank and Visa renewed their strategic partnership for nearly 15 years, continuing collaboration to foster digital financial services and innovation in the DRC. The partnership covers Visa Direct cross-border transfers, card issuance (debit, credit), and PGS payment gateway integration.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC) — WIN ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFC's WIN (Women in Business) program provides training for women entrepreneurs in Central Africa in collaboration with Rawbank. The program focuses on strengthening financial institutions' capacity to serve female entrepreneurs, improving the business climate, and sharing management experience and knowledge.
• Interswitch (Multipay Interbank Project)coreTechnology or IntegrationInterswitch is the EIG (groupement d'intérêt économique) that coordinates the Multipay Interbank Project in DRC. Rawbank's Deputy General Manager Christian Kamanzi serves as Chairman of Interswitch's Board of Directors, indicating a deep operational integration.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Trust Merchant Bank (TMB): Direct domestic competitor to Rawbank and one of the largest commercial banks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, offering retail, SME, and corporate banking with a similar branch-and-digital model in DRC.
• Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC): Historic DRC commercial bank with national branch coverage and corporate/retail banking; competes directly with Rawbank across deposits, credit, and trade finance in the same Congolese market.

Broad incumbents

• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated: Pan-African banking group with presence across Central and West Africa including DRC; offers retail, SME, and corporate banking at much larger regional scale, and competes on corporate and trade finance.
• United Bank for Africa (UBA): Pan-African bank operating in over 20 African countries including DRC; competes on retail digital banking, cross-border payments, and corporate banking at continental scale.
• Stanbic Bank DRC: Subsidiary of Standard Bank Group, the largest African bank by assets; operates in DRC offering corporate, investment, and retail banking and competes with Rawbank on corporate and trade finance.
• Equity Bank (Equity Group Holdings): East African-headquartered pan-African bank with a strong financial-inclusion and digital-banking model analogous to Rawbank's Lady's First and Illicocash strategy; operates in DRC and several neighboring markets.
• Société Générale (Africa subsidiaries): French-headquartered universal bank with significant West and Central African operations; competes with Rawbank on corporate banking, trade finance, and treasury products in regional corridors.

Regional players

• Afriland First Bank: Central African-focused banking group headquartered in Cameroon with cross-border presence in CEMAC states; overlaps with Rawbank's Central Africa regional positioning and corporate-banking offerings.

Emerging players

• KCB Bank Kenya: East African banking group that has expanded into DRC (Banque Commerciale du KCB); offers retail, SME, and digital banking comparable to Rawbank's Illicocash and Lady's First propositions.

Others

• Interswitch (Multipay DRC): Pan-African payments and digital-commerce infrastructure provider that operates the Multipay interbank switching project in DRC, in which Rawbank's Deputy GM Christian Kamanzi chairs the board; an enabling ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rawbank_sa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Rawbank
• Facebookfacebook.com/RawbankSa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rawbank
• Instagraminstagram.com/rawbanksa/?hl=fr

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rawbank