African banks are increasingly looking outside of their domestic markets, and many of the continent's biggest lenders are now active in multiple countries, buoyed by greater access to vast unbanked populations and a more stable political environment.
Africa
Latest articles from Kenya
Kenyan banks in scramble for South Sudan
March 1, 2012Kenya’s banks have been quick to move into newly independent South Sudan. Although the country is one of the world’s poorest and its infrastructure dire, the opportunities for banking over the next decade are immense, many Kenyan bankers believe, and their efforts are already paying off.
Kenya braced for a momentous year
March 1, 2012The next 12 months will be crucial for Kenya as it holds its first elections since its tumultuous 2007 polls. It will also try to recover quickly from last year’s spike in inflation, which sent interest rates soaring. Nonetheless, the country's economy remains strong and many are optimistic Kenya can reach middle-income status by 2030.
Tech-savvy Kenyan banks set the template for financial inclusion
February 1, 2012Kenya’s banks have proved themselves to be among Africa’s savviest and most innovative when it comes to tapping the unbanked market, which has helped them and their profits expand quickly in the past few years. And with a significant proportion of the market still unbanked, not to mention a relatively small number of mortgages in the country, there is still room for further growth.
What Kenya can teach the world about banking to the masses
February 1, 2012The example set by Kenya's banks when it comes to not only reaching the unbanked, but also making a profit from them, is something that the rest of the world should look to emulate.
Funding Africa's agrarian revolution
September 2, 2009Five decades of neglect left Africa's agricultural sector in a parlous state, but last year's food crisis galvanised global opinion that something must be done - and soon - to transform the continent's vast potential into reality. Financing small farmers is the first step. Writer Charlie Corbett
Kenya’s crowded banking sector ripe for consolidation
August 1, 2007Forty-one banks in the Kenyan banking system (plus three non-bank financial institutions and a building society) at the end of 2006 seems rather a lot, given that Tier 1 capital for the top bank in the country was only 12,375m shillings ($178m) at the financial year end.
Chinks of light amid the chaos
May 2, 2006Kenya’s politics are as turbulent as ever. Despite this, the private sector, and banks in particular, are doing well. James Eedes reports from Nairobi.
What the bankers say: Kenya
January 2, 2006The Banker invites CEOs from around the world to discuss the economic climate in their country and institution, and their hopes for the future
ANYANG NYONG'O, Minister of Planning and National Development, Kenya
April 4, 2005Anyang Nyong’o is credited with behind-the-scenes manoeuvring to get ministers to support reform plans.
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