A new analysis suggests a trajectory and policy recommendations, write Adeline Pelletier, Susanna Khavul and Saul Estrin. Click Here.
Author: Adeline Pelletier
The state of SME banking in Africa
New blog post in MFW4A on the state of SME banking in Africa with Jean-Philippe Stijns from the European Investment Bank.
“We are observing a rising level of competition which is pushing banks operating in SSA to step out of their comfort zone and to get more serious about lending to SMEs.”
Les banques, clés du développement raisonnable
New article in Geopolitique Africaine:
http://www.geopolitique-africaine.com/les-banques-cles-du-developpement-raisonnable
Kenyans start to roam Silicon Savannah
FT Article on “Silicon Savannah”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1cda231c-0bdb-11e6-9456-444ab5211a2f.html#axzz476novDPl
The only thing we know about African economies is that we do not know much at all
“Mr Kale must be creative. When people are asked how much they earn, suspicion of authority makes them underestimate. Ask them how much they spend, however, and, chest puffed up, they will give a much higher number. In surveys, getting the question right matters.
Mr Kale cannot take much at face value. He even checks his own fieldworkers’ movements through GPS. Otherwise, staff may be tempted to sit at home and make up numbers rather than slogging around the country.
It was under Mr Kale that Nigerians woke up one day in 2014 to discover that their economy was 89 per cent bigger than previously imagined, making it Africa’s largest.”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/68b6253a-df0b-11e5-b072-006d8d362ba3.html#axzz41jVD8msf
Disposal of Africa business creates ‘clear vision’ for Barclays
Smart Africa: Smartphones pave way for huge opportunities
What the railway was to Victorian England, the mobile networks are to Africa…
“Already there is an African app out of the starting blocks for almost everything: herding cattle in Kenya (i-Cow), private security in Ghana (hei julor!), remotely monitoring patients in Zimbabwe (Econet) and in Uganda, an Uber-like service (Yoza) connecting dirty laundry to mobile washerwomen.”
New post on internal capital markets of banks
I look at the policy implications of internal capital markets within multinational banks.
click on the link below to continue reading…
Connectivity and technology in Africa – ahead of the global game?
IFC and Ecobank partner to support SMEs in West and Central Africa
A $110m facility will help overcome the challenges of lending to smaller businesses.
“The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and pan-African banking group Ecobank have announced on May 26th the launch of a $110 million (€101 million) risk-sharing facility to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in fragile and conflict-affected states in West and Central Africa.”
Adeline Pelletier 