Financial Services

Africa’s financial system has undergone a complete transformation over the past few years with liberalisation and privatization leading it to the forefront. The continent is currently on a drive to increase penetration, especially in the rural side.

In Focus

The Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) 34, published in September 2023, ranks Casablanca, Morocco, as the leading African financial center, followed by Mauritius, Kigali, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Lagos.
Africa is making huge strides in digitizing their banking sector and improving financial inclusion. Presently, mobile banking has become the preferred mode of transaction.
The pool of banks competing for customers in African markets is growing, partly through the expansion of established banks into neighboring markets, but mainly through the creation of new players keen to exploit opportunities created by new technology. New-age banks have started a revolution with a zero-fee banking system making it more attractive for customers.
Penetration rates have increased in the last couple of years with banks offering specialized financial services such as insurance and personal investment plans to attract more customers.

Opportunities

African financial institutions are seeking out partners who could improve their technological expertise helping introduce new features into the market to give them an edge over their competitors.
With digitization comes threats of cybersecurity and data breaches. Investing in creating awareness through classes and courses against such attacks while also making websites and apps more secure and encrypted is a major arena for investments.
Investing in the population that are yet to open bank accounts or are yet to insure themselves could lead to a financial sector boom that will bring in more returns.