IBM today announced details of a $3 million deal with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) to support the bank in a major program of modernization and business expansion using Power Systems and other IBM hardware and software.

With the new IT infrastructure, the bank plans to increase its number of accounts by 25 percent per year, launch 200 new ATMs per year, and open 500 new branches over the next five years. It will also enable the bank to strengthen and extend its relationship with credit card providers and roll out new mobile and Internet banking services.

Previously the bank relied on a mixture of manual processes and IT infrastructure from HP and Sun; however, the system limited the bank’s growth and plans to transform. The new IT infrastructure, which will be operational by August, is based on IBM Power Systems, IBM DS8800 disk storage system, IBM Tivoli, and WebSphere software. IBM is also providing implementation and maintenance services as well as training for the bank’s staff.

“As the African financial services sector continues on a course of rapid transformation, IBM is working with banks to implement smarter systems that allow them to improve services to customers and strengthen their competitive position,” notes Tony Mwai, country general manager for IBM East Africa, in a press release. “This is a strategic deal for IBM in Africa and supports our expansion in the fastest growing sectors and markets across the continent.”

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopia’s largest commercial bank with over 2 million account holders and 372 branches across the country.