For years there have been numerous attempts to bring the continent together to create a continent-wide common market — a free trade area where all can benefit, but the attempts have yet to gain serious traction.

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.