Despite enviable economic growth stretching back 16 years, Uganda still has many hurdles to overcome, says James Eedes.

The governor of Zimbabwe’s central bank has had to introduce tough measures – in the face of death threats – to pull the country back from the brink of meltdown. But are they too little, too late? James Eedes reports.

Sophie Roell considers the prospects for Africa gaining a stronger presence on the world’s stock markets.

Douglas Beckett, regional head of consumer banking at Standard Chartered explains the bank’s strategy in Africa, following its recent re-entry into South Africa and Nigeria. By Parveen Bansal.
With its roots in both Asia and Africa, Standard Chartered Bank has emerged in the past 150 years as a leading financial institution in these markets. The present-day bank is the product of a 1969 merger between Standard Bank of South Africa and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, the latter being the older institution, having been founded in 1835 following the grant of a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

As signs of economic recovery appear in Kenya, banks are being hampered by the government’s unwillingness to let go of market control. Gill Baker reports.

Currency devaluation, new provisioning requirements for banks and the question of a presidential successor are creating a climate that is discouraging investors. Mark Wallace and Jon Marks report.

Helena Frith Powell talks to Paul Fokam, chairman of Afriland First Bank. He outlines how the bank intends to become a leader on the continent, while remaining relevant to Africans and working to reduce levels of poverty.

South African company Aplitec saw a gap in the payments market and devised a cheaper alternative to the EMV standard. Stuart Theobald explains how this upstart company has stolen a march on the global card giants.
Smart cards have heralded a technical revolution in payments systems across the globe. But the industry smart card standard Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) is not without its challengers. One that has caught the attention of Visa particularly is a small South African IT company called Aplitec.

The lowering of the rand/dollar exchange rate and an increase in assets keeps the country at the top of the pile.

News that South Africa’s financial sector has agreed to an ambitious black empowerment charter has pushed financial stocks upwards. The government-endorsed charter sets down detailed empowerment targets for companies, paving the way for as much as 25% of the sector’s value to be in black ownership by 2010.