Explaining the Condaneh phenomenon

The basic idea is nothing new. Especially for us Africans. It has been around with us since time immemorial. Before there were banks, there  were Condanehs.

A Condaneh is an African version of the European piggy bank. It was a concept used by our ancestors to save their money. Until the banks came along. Then the practice fell into disuse. Until Oceanic Bank came along. All of a sudden, those blue metallic boxes seem to be everywhere. I have seen them in offices, houses, even a certain restaurant has one for its staff.

Call it nostalgia or what you will, but many Gambians have warmly embraced the re-emergence of this ancient tradition. In an exclusive interview with Bode Okunola, the group head, Business Development, Oceanic Bank Gambia Limited, we asked him why.  According to him, it is because “Oceanic Bank has come up with a product that will have the benefits of our times, while linking it  to the past. That is why a lot of people show interest in the condaneh. It has been a success.”

He added that the “Condaneh concept is well understood by its customers”. Oceanic Bank has since its establishment succeeded in getting its target customers for the Condaneh concept and significant progress has been made with it, he added.

“ The condaneh is a box that our fathers and mothers used to keep under their beds in those days.  What they did basically was to keep money in the boxes and after some time, they removed it.  Quite often they  realized that the money saved overtime would be able to do some minor or major projects,” he explained.

The condaneh, he further explained, is basically a retail driven product. It encourages saving and makes banking easier. Their targets groups, he concluded, are market women, corner shops, merchants etc.