JPMorgan Chase & Co. opened representative offices in Kenya and Ivory Coast as part of an effort expand in east and west Africa.

The biggest US bank has hired Sailepu Montet, a former central banker in Kenya, to run its business in the East African nation, the company said in a response to questions. Michael Ahonzo Avou will run JPMorgan’s business in Ivory Coast, the bank said.

Montet was previously the deputy director of financial markets and head of reserves management at the Central Bank of Kenya and has also worked for Barclays Plc and Absa Group Ltd. Avou was the managing director of Société Générale Asset Management West Africa, the company said.

JPMorgan’s move comes as Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon visits Africa for the first time in seven years in a trip spanning Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. The bank is expanding in the continent as it seeks to deepen its international presence, which already stretches to more than 100 countries.

“What we want to do is open in more countries in Africa so that over time the next generation has a footprint here,” Dimon said at a Nigerian Economic Summit Group event in Abuja, Nigeria. “We are quite optimistic about the future of Africa.”

Nigeria Plans

The firm has about 160 employees across the region, with the majority in South Africa — its main base on the continent. Its offerings in that country include custody, payments, investment and commercial banking as well as equity research.

JPMorgan is also reviewing whether to pursue a full banking license in Nigeria, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. A spokesperson for JPMorgan declined to comment on its Nigeria plans.

“Nigeria is a very large country, one of the fastest growing populations in the world and it should have a very bright future,” Dimon said at the event.

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In Kenya, the New York-based firm has been trying to start a unit for several years. Around 2012, JPMorgan attempted to set up banking operations in both Kenya and Ghana as part of a push to foster more lucrative relationships with governments and multinationals. The plans were derailed when Tom Curry, the-then US comptroller of the currency, said the move would be too risky, Bloomberg reported in 2019.

Relations between Kenya and the US improved further after Kenyan President William Ruto became the first African leader in 16 years to pay an official state visit to the US. Citigroup Inc. is the biggest international bank in Kenya, and has been operating in the country for 50 years.