Archive for the ‘Banking & Financial Services’ category
Africa has a large market for low-cost insurance products
“Companies have to realise that insurance policies cannot simply be a low-value replica of what they provide for the higher-income market.”
Investment case for Africa now stronger than ever, says Ecobank
“Direct foreign investment in the continent is forecast to reach US$150 billion by 2015.”
Why Standard Bank’s head of agric banking decided to relocate to Nigeria
“The move was based on the market growth opportunity that exists in West Africa, and Nigeria specifically.”
Time is getting short to invest in African financial services
Companies looking to enter Africa’s financial services space need to move quickly as the window of opportunity is rapidly closing.
Mobile banking proving popular in Botswana
Mobile money and mobile banking are increasingly proving to be the ideal channels to access cash in Africa.
Mobile banking catching on in South Africa
Close to 2 out of every 10 South Africans are now using their phones to transfer cash to family and friends.
Learning about business in Africa from the sidelines a “waste of time”
The only way to gain a real understanding of Africa’s business environment is to participate in an active and committed fashion.
Nigerian banks turning their focus towards agriculture
“The fact that you have a bank that has its origins in investment banking looking seriously at agriculture, is a positive development.”
The emergence of African cross-border banks, and the new risks they hold
While the continent has had a long presence of international banks, the emergence of Africa-based regional lenders has significantly increased cross-border banking activity.
Nigeria’s entrepreneurial spirit addictive, says Stanbic IBTC boss
Chris Newson, CEO of Stanbic IBTC Bank says the Nigerian people’s entrepreneurial spirit and energy are “incredibly addictive and powerful”.
Barclays’ South African subsidiary introduces no-frills banking
The brightly coloured, “funky”-looking outlets is a big step away from the lender’s traditional halls.
South Africa trying to position itself as Africa’s Islamic finance hub
“Even though Islamic finance has been around for 50 years, more than half of the continent’s Muslim population remains unbanked.”
New era for M-PESA
Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom last week announced a deal that will enable the 13.5 million customers using its M-PESA mobile money transfer service to receive payments from any of the 80,000 Western Union agent locations across the world.
Microfinance in Africa – a call for greater transparency
The microfinance world has lately been receiving a series of negative PR, including the recent squabble in Bangladesh involving the Nobel Prize Laureate, Muhammad Yunus.
Financial groups eye Africa’s growing middle class
“Africa’s financial services industry may continue to grow at an average annual rate of 15% to 2020, outpacing gross domestic product growth.”
