Banking & Finance contributor articles in Africa

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#BizTrends2020: Disrupting legacy African payments - going digital

A country's payments system is probably not the first thing we think of when we think about the challenge of economic development. But payments are key to the bottom-up economic growth urgently needed...

By Murray Gardiner 17 Jan 2020

#BizTrends2020: Africa's double-edged consumer demand

Africa's consumer landscape is fragmented and polarised, characterised by the double-edged demand of a diverse base of consumers...

By Ailsa Wingfield 6 Jan 2020

#FoodNextAfrica: How to whet the appetite of food investors

The global food and beverage business is brimming with innovation. Competition is stiff between FMCG giants and startups racing to get their latest product onto retail shelves and into the hands of consumers...

By Lauren Hartzenberg 30 Sep 2019

#ECO19: Is your mobile commerce strategy excluding the mass market?

When you design for mobile, consider who you're building for. For the small percentage with beautiful, high-end phones, or for 61% of the market?

By Lauren Hartzenberg 22 Mar 2019

#BizTrends2019: Payments, engagement, partnership - African retail trends for 2019

With two key retail periods - Black Friday and festive season - now behind us, retailers are looking for new ways to increase revenue, grow market share, and boost profits...

By Mark Schech 22 Jan 2019

#BizTrends2019: The digitalisation of payment providers in 2019

Corrie Bakker, head of strategy and business development for Africa at PayU talks about what we can expect in the payment provider front in 2019...

By Evan-Lee Courie 21 Jan 2019

#MFGIndaba: An uncomfortable world

In same the way as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Revolutions did, the 4th Revolution is creating discomfort around the globe...

By Danette Breitenbach 26 Jun 2018

Kenyan startup Tanda launches inventory-management solution

Kenyan startup Tanda, which makes it easier to run a shop by allowing shop owners to order and manage their inventory, has formally launched after a four-month pilot...

By Tom Jackson 6 Jun 2018

Moroccan e-commerce platform Hmizate expands into fintech

Moroccan company Hmizate, which since 2011 has provided an e-commerce platform offering users access to goods, food, travel services and deals, has expanded into fintech with the launch of HmizatePay...

By Tom Jackson 16 May 2018

Kenya's Twiga Foods partners IBM for blockchain-based microfinancing

Kenyan agri-tech startup Twiga Foods has partnered IBM Research to extend access to microloans to 220 food stall retailers across Kenya using a blockchain-based financing system...

By Tom Jackson 19 Apr 2018

SA's Airbuy launches e-commerce payment gateway

South African startup Airbuy has rolled out its alternative payment gateway that allows e-commerce sites to accept payments without their customers exposing their banking details...

By Tom Jackson 25 Jan 2018

BBM Messenger's Adam Pattison on chat, dark social and the new mobile economy

On his visit to South Africa for the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) Forum in Johannesburg on 2 November and Mobile Monday in Cape Town on 6 November, Adam Pattison, vice president, Americas & EMEA at BBM Messenger, shared insights into chat or dark social and how this is shaping the mobile economy...

By Jessica Tennant 20 Nov 2017

Consumer spending leads economic recovery

The recent launch of the Mastercard SpendingPulse Report is a first for South Africa. The Report is an early indicator of consumer spending trends...

By Danette Breitenbach 21 Sep 2017

The convergence of credit card and cash in Africa

According to a recent study conducted by Mastercard, over 50% of the South African population still transact using cash on a daily basis...

By Simeon Tassev 1 Aug 2017

SA payments startup Yoco to expand across Africa

South African payments startup Yoco is to launch in test markets in East and West Africa by the end of next year on the back of strong growth at home...

By Tom Jackson 31 Jul 2017

#StartupStory: Flexpay

In the #StartupStory spotlight this week is Flexpay: a product created in response to the high demand in the market for purchasing goods via piecemeal payments...

By Ilse van den Berg 19 Jun 2017

Egyptian online grocery startup GoodsMart raises $750k

Egyptian online grocery service GoodsMart has raised $750,000 in funding from Algebra Ventures, which will go towards growing its operational capacity...

By Tom Jackson 3 May 2017

Andrew Torre, Visa president for sub-Saharan Africa. Source:

How Africa's mobile revolution is reaching the unbanked

The continent's mobile banking revolution is only just beginning, and although payment systems are becoming more seamless, cash is still king in Africa...

By Nicci Botha 20 Mar 2017

Mobile payment security for a globetrotting generation

Thanks to advances in technology, the travel experience - compared to only a few years ago - is faster, simpler and more convenient. We book airline tickets, hotel stays, and call an Uber quickly and easily with a simple click on websites or in apps, paying with credit or debit cards. And, once on the road, we use our mobiles to check-in, access boarding passes, and receive updates on any changes to our plans...

By Ajay Bhalla 9 Nov 2016

Economical metamorphisms: 2020

All over the world, mega organisation, institutions and government agencies are immersed in tackling the economical chaos. Unsolved mysteries must now be unraveled...

By Naseem Javed 23 Dec 2015

Mobile money - time for a reality check?

The growth of mobile money in Africa over the last seven years has been phenomenal. Figures doing the rounds include the calculation that 43%of Kenyan GDP is channelled through M-PESA each year...

By Vahid Monadjem 25 Oct 2014

[2013 trends] Africa's dynamic markets

The year 2013 for most brands, especially the ones coping with saturated markets in developed countries, will be a decisive one. Incorporating Africa into their corporate brand strategy, if they haven't done so, will be the better part of valour, so to speak.

By Obaika Consulting Team 31 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] Africa poised for a great future

As 2013 commences, afro-pessimism seems to cede to afro-optimism. There is a global consensus: Africa is poised for a great future. What will be the impact of Africa's growth on our industry? What will be the major trends of the year? In the business world, predicting the future is a crucial exercise.

By Nandkishor Buty 30 Jan 2013

Uganda names Top 50 Brands

As one of activities to commemorate Uganda gaining independence from the British in 1962, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda has identified and honoured its Top 50 Brands of the last five decades.

By Walter Wafula 23 Aug 2012

Kenya's retail sector seeks development policy

For the fifth year running, the National Economic Survey has identified the retail and wholesale trade sectors as key growth drivers of Kenya's economy. In 2011, the wholesale and retail trade sector showed a growth of 7.3%, beating the manufacturing, building and construction, agriculture, transport and communication sectors.

By Carole Kimutai 6 Jun 2012

Rest of Africa drags down Altech full-year results

Technology group Altech has reported a 27% decrease in adjusted headline earnings per share, from 529c to 388c, on poor performance from its operations in West Africa and continuing underperformance of its businesses in East Africa.

By Duncan McLeod 25 Apr 2012

BNL launches The Business Times

Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL) has launched a fifth title after the first issue of an exclusively business newspaper called The Business Times hit the streets last week.

By Gregory Gondwe 10 Apr 2012

Revive IMF program or no assistance, donors tell Malawi

Malawi's donors under the Common Approach to Budget Support (CABS) have asked the country to revive its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program or forget their financial assistance.

By Gregory Gondwe 8 Dec 2011

ILO proposes monetary policies for Malawi's employment creation

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released a report on Malawi which is trying to establish on how monetary policy instruments can be used to encourage Malawi onto a path of employment-generating growth. The report titled Macroeconomic policy for employment creation: The Case for Malawi released last month has identified three policy areas for consideration.

By Gregory Gondwe 2 Nov 2011

Africa's five major trends for potential growth

Population growth, rapid urbanisation, adoption of new technologies, unlocking of abundant resources and the deepening of the financial sector are the five major trends that are set to drive Africa's economic growth, Simon Freemantle, Standard Bank Africa senior analyst, told a media roundtable in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday, Thursday 6 October 2011.

By Issa Sikiti da Silva 7 Oct 2011

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