Union Bank, one of Nigeria’s foremost financial institutions, has unveiled the 2021 UnionX Innovation Challenge, as part of efforts to support young startups and boost innovation in the startup ecosystem.

Deutsche Bank announced the closing of two lending facilities with the Republic of Ghana. The €150 million financing agreements, guaranteed by the Italian Export Credit Agency SACE, will fund the construction and equipment of two infrastructure projects.

UK-based global insurance solutions firm, Linkham Group will acquire a stake in Resolution Insurance after purchase of 100% of the equity holding of private equity firm, Leapfrog Investment.

Rwanda Finance Limited (RFL) and the Belgian Finance Center (BFC) have announced the signing of an extended partnership to strengthen ties between their financial sectors.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange announced the successful integration of its bond system with Refinitiv’s Fixed Income Call Outs application (FICO), an automated workflow that facilitates negotiations and agreements of fixed Income bonds trading terms.

South African digital bank TymeBank, secured an investment amounting to $110 million from Apis Growth Fund II, attracting new investors from the UK and Philippines.

Standard Bank Group, the largest African bank by assets, has partnered with Hedera Hashgraph, an enterprise-grade distributed public ledger, and joined the Hedera Governing Council.

Sapiens International Corporation, the global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, announced that a Tier 1 South African bank has enhanced its offerings with five additional components of Sapiens IDITSuite for Property & Casualty

The World Bank approved $250 million to improve the operational performance of the electricity sector utilities and increase electricity access in selected cities of Angola.

The African Development Bank has extended financial support to a project that will strengthen the efforts of West African countries to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has joined the 30% club, a global campaign to take action to increase gender diversity in boards and senior management within the workplace.

The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) signed a $50 million loan with Tanzania to finance the Fourth Tanzania Poverty Reduction Project.

The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) signed a $20 million public sector loan agreement with Kenya to increase regional connectivity, enhance trade and improve the socio-economic welfare.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €300 million financing package to Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG) to support the stability of Tunisia’s energy sector.

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the financing and promotion of the automotive industry in Africa.

With younger age groups starting to actively participate in the acquisition of assets, expectations on financial institutions and their offerings are changing rapidly.

The current global trend towards more meaningful, purpose-led investment – otherwise known as Impact Investing – has shown there are real opportunities for a stable, growing investment portfolio that also reflects your beliefs.

Sunil Kaushal is the CEO Africa & Middle East at Standard Chartered PLC. Sunil has nearly 30 years of banking experience in diverse markets.

In Africa, the renewed focus to raise additional financing for development and narrow the resource gap by accelerating Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM), has been at the center of the development strategy in recent years.

Like most large enterprises today, banks and other financial services companies are striving to become technology businesses.

Ghana’s financial sector is in crisis. A crisis occasioned by the collapse of over 300 financial institutions; and which has affected every division of the financial sector.

As the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis continues to spread, the amount of money migrant workers send home is projected to decline 14 percent by 2021 compared to the pre COVID-19 levels in 2019.

The latest UNCTAD report indicates that Africa loses about $89 billion a year as a result of illicit financial flows and theft which represents 3.7% of its GDP.

COVID-19 has seen consumers across the world ditch cash and in-person shopping in favour of online spending, according to Standard Chartered’s latest global survey.

Governments must do more to tackle tax abuse and corruption in global finance, says a panel of former heads of state and government, past central bank governors, business and civil society leaders and prominent academics.

Every year, an estimated $88.6 billion, equivalent to 3.7% of Africa’s GDP, leaves the continent as illicit capital flight, according to UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2020.

A Standard Chartered survey finds that COVID-19 is significantly impacting personal finances globally, with one-third (65% in Kenya) already earning less and more than half expecting the pandemic to further affect their income and/or employment.

Banks in Africa must provide mobile payments and other digital services to remain competitive as well as to unlock new business opportunities across sectors such as energy, health care, education and transportation, according to a new report by BCG.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across Africa has seen a surge in digital payments and e-commerce transactions as financial institutions scramble to offer businesses and consumers contact-less ways of spending.

The coronavirus pandemic has increased downside risks to EMEA trade-finance banks' (ETFBs) financial profiles, Fitch Ratings says in a new special report.