By Andrei Skvarsky. Multinational bank Standard Chartered’s innovation-focused investment unit SC Ventures has made what it called a “strategic” investment in British sharia-compliant financial technology company Algbra. Statements from SC Ventures and Algbra that announced the investment did not provide any details or disclose the terms of the deal. But both statements quoted Algbra chief… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Africa
Key global banks among arrangers of $1.16bn Africa loan
By Andrei Skvarsky. Société Générale, Standard Chartered and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporaton (SMBC) were among banks that have arranged a $1.16bn syndicated loan for Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in a United Arab Emirates project aiming to give a boost to African economies. The total amount to be raised was initially set at $1bn but was… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Africa – Africa’s Premier Telecom Summit, Johannesburg, July 25, 2023
This conference, part of the Connected Africa series organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (Intercsa), will bring together Vodafone and key African telecom companies. Themed “transforming to telcos of the future”, Connected Africa – Africa’s Premier Telecom Summit will discuss technologies such as 4G LTE, VoLTE and EDGE. It will also take up… Continue Reading
EVENT REMINDER: Connected Banking Southern Africa, Johannesburg, May 24
More than 270 companies – banks, insurers, fintechs, non-banking financial organisations, investment funds, asset managers and others – are expected to take part in Connected Banking Southern Africa, a summit in Johannesburg on May 24 that will focus on digital inclusion and sustainable transformation. The agenda includes decentralised finance, the zero trust cybersecurity model and… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Banking Summit Southern Africa, Johannesburg, May 24
The conference will focus on Digital Inclusion and Sustainable Transformation in the south of Africa and take up other matters such as decentralised finance, the zero trust security model, and ESG-compliant business. The forum will bring together banks, non-banking financial organisations, fintechs, investment funds, and asset management companies. It will be the eighth conference in… Continue Reading
Connected Banking Summit East Africa discusses digitalisation, cybersecurity, risk management
Connected Banking Summit East Africa, an international conference in Nairobi, on March 7, brought together numerous banks and financial services companies and addressed issues in fields such as digitalisation, cybersecurity and risk management. The forum was the seventh conference in the Africa-focused Connected Banking Summit series organised by International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA), which… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Banking East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, March 7
Connected Banking East Africa, a conference themed “Accelerating Digital Inclusion Through Sustainable Transformation”, is the seventh event in the Africa-focused Connected Banking Summit series organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA), an event management company based in Bengaluru, India. The previous conferences in the series, which is entitled “Africa Digital Banking Summit –… Continue Reading
EVENT UPDATE: Connected Banking West Africa, Accra, Nov 15-16, 2022
(Conference to be a purely in-person event – no online streaming) This is to remind you of Connected Banking West Africa, an in-person conference in Accra, Ghana, on November 15-16 on digitalisation in banking. The conference will be a purely in-person event with none of the sessions being streamed online. More than 250 companies are… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Banking West Africa, hybrid forum, Accra, Nov 15-16, 2022
Bankers, investors, asset managers, insurers and other financial sector professionals are going to meet in Accra, Ghana, on November 15 and 16 for Connected Banking West Africa, a hybrid in-person/virtual conference on digitalisation in banking. The event is the sixth in the Connected Banking series of conferences that was formerly called Africa Digital Banking Summit… Continue Reading
M4Markets brokerage gets go-ahead to Europe trade from Cyprus regulator
By Andrei Skvarsky. Seychelles-headquartered foreign exchange and contract for differences (CFD) broker M4Markets has obtained a licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) authorising it to cater to European traders. The authorisation came via the acquisition by The Oryx Group, the Belgian-based company behind M4Markets, of CySEC-licensed investment firm ICC Intercertus Capital, which… Continue Reading
RenCap announces two hires for Africa team, one hire for London unit
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment bank Renaissance Capital has announced three hires – two for technology-related research positions in its Africa operation and one for a London-based role of overseeing the firm’s relations with key institutional and retail clients. Yusuf Ibrahim has been hired as an analyst for venture investment in private-sector technology companies in Africa, including… Continue Reading
Guernsey Finance rep to promote Guernsey financial services in S. Africa
Guernsey Finance, a public-private agency for the promotion of Guernsey’s financial services industry, has appointed its first dedicated representative to South Africa, giving the role to Grant McLeod, who has had a long career in the African country’s financial sector. McLeod’s duties will include promoting the Channel island’s financial industry not only in South Africa… Continue Reading
M4Markets forex, CFD broker upgrades arsenal by launching MT5 platform
By Andrei Skvarsky. M4Markets, a foreign exchange and contract-for-differences (CFD) brokerage, has announced it has rolled out a MetaTrader 5 (MT5) electronic trading platform in addition to the less sophisticated MetaTrader 4 (MT4) it used until then. MT5 offers a range of features that MT4 does not possess. They include an in-built economic calendar, the possibility… Continue Reading
M4Markets FX and CFD broker launches festive rebate promo
By Andrei Skvarsky. M4Markets, a foreign exchange (FX) and contract-for-difference (CFD) brokerage, has announced that clients of the company will receive $2 for every lot they trade as a Christmas-New Year rebate promotion launched on December 1 and expiring on January 31. Only direct clients, both current and new ones, and only those holding a standard… Continue Reading
London financial broker Infinox expanding further into Africa
By Andrei Skvarsky. London-based online financial broker Infinox Capital is expanding its business into Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Ghana after a recent launch in Nigeria and plans to set up a continental hub in South Africa in the coming months. Young people make up a large proportion of Africa’s population and have increasing access… Continue Reading
Seychelles-based CFD broker M4Markets hires Marilena Iakovou from Tickmill as head of marketing
By Andrei Skvarsky. M4Markets, a foreign exchange (FX) and contract-for-differences (CFD) brokerage headquartered in Seychelles, has announced it has hired Marilena Iakovou from FX broker Tickmill as chief marketing officer (CMO). A CFD is a financial derivatives trading deal where the difference between the open and closing trade prices is paid by the buyer to… Continue Reading
African Development Bank gives Akinwumi Adesina 2nd 5-year term as president
By Andrei Skvarsky. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has re-elected Akinwuma Adesina for a second five-year term as president of the bank. Adesina, who is a former Nigerian agriculture minister, was re-elected during the AfDB’s 2020 annual meeting late in August. He received a unanimous vote from the 54 African and 27 non-African member countries… Continue Reading
U.S.-based fintech Venio launches developing world-focused smartphone app to make nano loans
By Andrei Skvarsky. New York-based financial technology company Venio has developed a smartphone app for making nano loans, primarily for people in developing countries who do not use banks, and has launched the device in the Philippines. The app is expected to promote financial inclusion by giving unbanked people access to financial services that are… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Africa Bank 4.0 Summit to look into Covid-caused challenges, blockchain, cybersecurity
Blockchain, cybersecurity, the role of artificial intelligence in financial inclusion, support for African agriculture by banks, fintechs and insurtechs, and coronavirus-caused problems are among subjects to be raised during the Africa Bank 4.0 Summit, a virtual conference on August 26-27. The forum, organised by event company BII World, will take place from 1:30pm to 5:30pm… Continue Reading
African Development Bank debars two Chinese firms for alleged fraud
By Andrei Skvarsky. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has temporarily closed any projects funded by it to China-based electrical equipment manufacturer Sieyuan Electric and one of its subsidiaries, accusing the two companies of fraud in seeking a contract in Rwanda. Sieyuan presented false credentials in tendering for a contract under an AfDB-financed electricity access project… Continue Reading
African Development Bank debars power plant developer BWSC over alleged scam
By Andrei Skvarsky. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has temporarily barred Danish power plant developer Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) from all its projects after accusing it of a fraudulent attempt to win a contract in Mauritius. The AfDB said in a statement there was evidence that BWSC had bribed Mauritian officials to obtain… Continue Reading
Standard Chartered appoints CFO for Africa and Mideast
Standard Chartered on June 8 announced the appointment of Subhradeep Mohanty, previously the bank’s chief financial officer (CFO) for India, as CFO for Africa and the Middle East (AME). Before joining Standard Chartered in 2014, Mohanty held Singapore- and Hong Kong-based CFO roles at J.P. Morgan, positions at American Express and a job at one… Continue Reading
Islamic financial body ITFC tries to help Senegal ride out Covid crisis
By Andrei Skvarsky. The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has provided a murabaha (Sharia-compliant) loan of 8m euros ($9m) to the Islamic Bank of Senegal to support operations within the African country’s private sector, traumatised by the Covid-19 pandemic. The money is planned to advance trade between Senegal, which is a predominantly Muslim country,… Continue Reading
African capital markets make poor showing, and not only due to Covid – study
By Andrei Skvarsky. According to a study by economists and financial experts, African equity capital markets have generally seen a serious activity decline over the past three years because of debts built up by key African economies and slow growth shown by them. Last year African capital markets showed some of their meagrest total annual… Continue Reading
Law firm Centurion launches service to help investors navigate in post-Covid Africa
By Andrei Skvarsky. Pan-African law and advisory conglomerate Centurion said it has launched a full-suite tax and investment advisory service to help investors find their way around Africa’s private sector during its recovery from woes inflicted on it by Covid-19. The service, to be managed by the Johannesburg-headquartered firm’s Centurion Plus unit, will enable businesses… Continue Reading
African Development Bank lending to Kenya, Mauritius to deal with Covid-19 havoc
By Andrei Skvarsky. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved loans for the governments of Kenya and Mauritius, with each country to receive 188m euros ($205m), to combat Covid-19 and mitigate the economic and social impacts of the pandemic. The loan for Kenya, approved by the AfDB’s board of directors on May 22, is, among… Continue Reading
RenCap: Covid-19, cheap oil spell sharp economic slowdown for Sub-Saharan Africa
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Renaissance Capital investment bank has revised its 2020 annual growth forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) down to 1.3 per cent from 3.5 per cent, chiefly because of the Covid-19 pandemic and plunged oil prices. The coronavirus outbreak has brought about a “demand shock”, which “implies a sharp slowdown across all SSA… Continue Reading
African Development Bank’s anti-Covid-19 social bond raises $3bn
By Andrei Skvarsky. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has raised $3bn via a three-year bond to help to alleviate impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to have on livelihoods and economies in Africa. Bids exceeding $4.6bn have come in for the Fight Covid-19 bond, which has a yield of 0.75 per cent and… Continue Reading
EVENT POSTPONEMENTS DUE TO COVID-19
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the following conferences with whose organisers EmergingMarkets.me has media partnership agreements have been postponed: The Digital Banking Summit organised by ICSA has been rescheduled for August 17-18 and will take place in Accra, Ghana. It was originally planned to be held on April 6-7 in Lagos. Blockchain Life, initially scheduled… Continue Reading