Standard Chartered advocates looking beyond Africa’s economic woes

By Odunewu Segun

Nigeria is among eight countries in Africa set to benefit from Standard Chartered unique mobile and online banking platform that would bring banking services closer to its one million customers in these countries that also included Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

According to the bank’s regional head for retail banking, Jaydeep Gupta said Standard Chartered hopes to grow long term retail banking revenues in Africa by three to four times the pace of the regions in economic output with the new mobile and online banking platform.

“Africa’s populations are moving quickly to embrace mobile banking and local banks have made material investments on the digital side, so to protect and grow our market share we are investing,” he said.

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The bank’s strategy stands in contrast to European rivals who have beat a rapid retreat from Africa in recent years, stung by plunging commodities prices and weaknesses in African currencies. StanChart is nonetheless expanding its physical presence in the region, adding 10 branches in the Nigerian capital of Lagos as part of a strategy to focus on Africa’s capital and top-tier cities which Gupta said account for roughly 80 percent of consumer banking revenues.

Gupta declined to put a figure on the bank’s Africa investment. Africa accounts for 10 percent or around 8400 of the lender’s total employees, and StanChart made a net loss in the region of $32 million in 2015 on rising bad loans, according to company data.

“Africa is a multi-speed market with some countries such as Kenya bounding ahead while others like Zimbabwe and Nigeria remain challenging, but we see attractive long-term growth opportunities for the continent,” Gupta said.

The International Monetary Fund had on May 3 cuts its 2016 growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa by one per cent point to three per cent, the lowest level in 15 years and half average over the last decade.