Programme

Africa’s financial destiny and the continent’s capacity to finance its economic needs require swift and strong action from regional and pan-African leaders. In the wake of a subdued international financial presence on the continent, African champions must now lead the way in establishing the continent’s economic prosperity, from supporting trade finance and infrastructure projects to backing industrial, extractive, and renewable energy ventures. Key industry stakeholders discuss the regulatory environment and top priorities for scaled-up African financial institutions to drive economic growth and gain a foothold in global financial centres. 

Key points:  

• How will Africa’s financial industry be consolidated?  
• From facilitating payment interoperability, to bringing financial products to the informal workforce, how can industry leaders further enable technological advances?
• Which human capital development strategy best supports the technical skills needed for the financial sector?

Deloitte and the Africa Financial Industry Summit – AFIS unpack insights from the 4th African Financial Industry Barometer. The annual survey of financial sector executives offers a deep dive into the industry’s stance on regulations, sustainable finance, and the obstacles to financial inclusion. Discover how banks, insurers, fintechs, and capital market players are structuring their businesses, strengthening governance, and responding to regulatory shifts.

Prof Carlos Lopes of the University of Cape Town has sounded the alarm that a biased global financial system, a crippling debt dependency cycle, and unfair credit ratings are coming together to accelerate international banking exits from Africa. With domestic financial institutions picking up the mantle, the economist looks at conditions they’ll need to succeed as Africa edges towards a modest recovery in 2025 (4.3% vs. 3.7% in 2024). 

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African institutional investors are looking to diversify their portfolios into alternative assets such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure to optimise their risk-return profile. But alternative assets represent just 3% of total assets under management due to a lack of properly adapted local products, limited risk management and regulatory constraints. This is despite efforts by regulators in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria to raise investment limits in a push to encourage more ambitious allocations. A roundtable bringing together pension and sovereign funds, insurers and regulators will discuss strategies to stimulate investment in alternative assets.

Key points:  

• Valuation of complex financial instruments, due diligence, risk management: How to strengthen the capabilities of industry players
• Restrictive investment limits, taxonomy and reporting standards, taxation: What reforms are needed to create a favourable regulatory environment?  
• How can the industry develop diversified and appropriate product offerings? 
  

A draft AfCFTA framework on financial services could, if approved, drive regulators, including in insurance, to harmonise prudential measures. While Africa’s insurance sector has made strides in aligning minimum capital requirements and domestication policies in the CIMA zone, other harmonisation initiatives – such as cross-border motor accident cover in West and East Africa – have stalled due to poor recognition by member states, low public awareness, and delays in claims settlement. Furthermore, many African markets continue to impose residency requirements for insurers and reinsurers or mandate risk-sharing with domestic firms to protect national interests. How can such policies be reconciled with AfCFTA integration? What measures should regulators take to protect their markets while advancing the common market? 

Key points: 

• Common licensing and risk-based capital approaches: The next steps to align prudential measures in anticipation of the AfCFTA framework
• Domestication policies: Fundamental to protect national interests or incompatible with AfCFTA integration?
• How to design a governance structure fit to harmonise prudential measures in insurance? 

African commercial banks based in low-credit-rating countries are finding it difficult to establish appropriate correspondent banking relationships with international banks, many of which have withdrawn from Africa. Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and Admassu Tadesse, President and CEO of Eastern and Southern Africa’s Trade and Development Bank (TDB), and Michael Jongeneel, CEO of FMO discuss how expanded DFI trade finance guarantees and payment risk cover could bridge the gap and enable partnerships between African banks and global financial institutions.

Business magnate Aliko Dangote in July warned that “no growth will happen” in Nigeria with interest rates at a record 26% high. Policy rates hit three-year or historical highs in many African markets in 2024 as African central banks did not follow the global cycle of monetary easing, instead maintaining or raising rates. At what point will a prolonged tight monetary policy hurt credit access to MSMEs? When and to what extent will they adjust policy rates to stimulate the real economy?

Key points 

• Why are central banks in many African countries struggling to control inflation?
• Do credit guarantee policies and other support measures go far enough to aid agricultural and micro-enterprises?
• Commercial banks meeting higher capital requirements: Will central bank borrowing be an option at attractive repo rates?

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Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of African economies, central to employment, innovation, and economic growth. The financial industry has often considered such businesses too risky and too costly to serve, leaving a huge market opportunity unexplored. In recent years however, the adoption of digital channels, enhanced data analytics, and innovative business models have allowed forward-looking financial services providers to take their SME banking to the next level. Partnerships between new and old players have proved essential to bringing such innovation to fruition, in some ways upending the established financial industry playing field. This Strategic Roundtable session will explore what makes for successful SME finance partnerships in the digital age, drawing on the varied perspectives of commercial banks, fintechs, telcos, and regulators. 

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BCEAO’s pilot interoperable instant payment system marks a decisive turning point in progressing mobile money interoperability on the continent. While West Africa is accelerating interoperability projects, the rest of the continent is lagging. Ambitions for continental interoperability remain thwarted by diverse financial regulations, cumbersome negotiations between stakeholders and difficult decisions on distributing the cost of the digital infrastructure needed. This closed-door roundtable brings together regulators, mobile money operators, fintechs and banking institutions to define the conditions for setting up Pan-African mobile money interoperability.

Key points:   

• Harmonisation and standardisation: How to meet the challenge of fragmented African regulations?  
• Mobile operators, mobile money services, banks and governments: What types of partnership should be favoured?  
• Digitisation & financial inclusion: Could payment interoperability be the tool for pan-African economic integration?  

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Egypt, Ethiopia, and Rwanda this year joined a growing list of African nations exploring CBDC launches. Nigeria’s eNaira wallet, integrated by some fintechs and commercial banks, shows the potential for offline services to the unbanked – although only 0.5% of Nigerians were using the eNaira within a year of its 2021 launch. Elsewhere, global pilots suggest interoperable wholesale CBDCs could offer instant cross-currency payments, an opportunity for African states to consider. A roundtable of central bank governors and financial institutions discusses how CBDCs can catalyse financial inclusion and ease cross-border payments.

Key points: 

• Ensuring retail CBDCs bring value to underbanked communities and achieve uptake goals
• Debit cards, mobile wallets, bill payments: What CBDC innovations can commercial banks, fintechs and mobile money develop to increase penetration?
• Working towards interoperable CBDCs for cross-border payments that co-exist with regional payment systems and the PAPSS – Pan-African Payment and Settlement System 

Intra-African trade has seen growth, yet it remains only 15% of total trade—far below Europe’s 68%. The African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), launched in December 2022, connects over 2,000 companies with a combined market capitalisation of $1.5 trillion, aiming to facilitate cross-border securities trading and boost market transparency across seven African exchanges. Through increased liquidity and investment attraction, AELP has the potential to drive economic growth. However, challenges such as regulatory fragmentation, settlement and clearing complexities, and infrastructure gaps must be addressed to unlock its full potential. How can the AELP advance its goals while fostering essential regulatory and settlement reforms to build long-term competitiveness? 

Key points: 

• How can the AELP enhance the global competitiveness of African capital markets?
• What regulatory and monetary reforms are needed to maximize the platform’s impact on intra-African trade?
• How can we ensure that SMEs and other small businesses fully benefit from the integration of African stock exchanges? 

Gender bonds and mobile apps offering advanced capital to women hold new hope to empower female entrepreneurs, who could add $2.5 trillion to Africa’s GDP by 2025. But the continent has the lowest gender bond issuance globally, and the digital tools designed for women-led MSMEs still face challenges of digital literacy, internet connectivity, and access to financial services. In 2022, South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank was the first to issue a US$58mn gender-linked bond on the continent. But the financing tool is viewed as complex due to the lack of a ‘go to’ reference on the processes and precedent on investor returns. How can financial institutions better design innovative financing tools such as gender bonds and digitalisation of collateral to help bridge Africa’s gender finance gap?  
 
Key Points:  

• Better inclusivity: What challenges do financial institutions face when offering digital or mobile products designed for women?
• Better design: How can gender bonds entice investor return?
• Lessons learned: How do successfully issued gender bonds and digital products for women in other countries apply to Africa? 

International markets will be critical to funding Africa’s most ambitious development projects following the withdrawal of many large international banks from the continent. Yet, the number of African banks licensed in Europe, or the United States is less than ten and there are very few African companies listed on global markets. In this high-level conversation, Edward Knight, Nasdaq’s Executive Vice Chairman discusses how Africa can build big corporates and financial institutions at home that encourage the public-private trust needed to attract their international counterparts. 

Governments could play a crucial role in helping MSMEs access affordable formal credit, but some past efforts have fallen short of expectations. Defaults on Kenya’s ‘Hustler Fund’, an initiative to provide citizens with access to credit at lower rates than commercial banks, now exceed 50%. Kenya’s National Treasury, under Cabinet Secretary Dr John MBADI, plans to shift the focus from direct lending to MSMEs to expanding credit guarantees and is creating a credit guarantee policy framework. Will this fresh approach be enough to convince risk-averse commercial banks to increase SME lending?

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Weather-related disasters impacting Africa surged by 75% from 2014 to 2023, exacerbating the disaster risk insurance gap. Insurers could play a crucial role in helping businesses and individuals absorb losses from flood, drought and climate-induced epidemics. But data gaps, limited risk transfer tools, and a lack of regulations for transferring risk hinder climate insurance growth. Regulatory authorities, underwriting insurers and development finance institutions convene in a roundtable to ensure the insurance sector is prepared to cover losses for millions that could be affected by climate change.

Key points:

• What kind of regulatory framework is needed to help the insurance sector absorb climatic risks?
• How could development finance institutions bring new instruments for risk transfer?
• What can insurers do to optimise underwriting and risk strategies?

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Patient capital with a 10–20-year horizon is crucial to bridge Africa’s $108 billion annual infrastructure gap. In 2023, only 3% of global infrastructure investments reached sub-Saharan Africa as institutional investors prioritise stable, low perceived risk destinations with clear regulations. Capturing just 1% of global institutional assets or unlocking $150-$240 billion in domestic savings from insurance and sovereign wealth funds could uplift Africa’s infrastructure landscape. How can stakeholders align policies, mitigate risks, and direct patient capital towards essential long-term infrastructure projects? 
 
Key points:  

• Stable and predictable returns: Optimising capital structures, transparency and governance to derisk investments and attract institutional investors
• Moving towards supportive regulatory frameworks for blended finance and better public/private sectors risk sharing
• How can institutional investors be engaged and educated about the long-term value of Arican infrastructure investments? 

Africa’s mobile payments market is on the cusp of explosive growth—750 million users and revenue jumping from $3.5 billion to $20 billion by next year. But in the past six months, new regulations have started to shake the fintech landscape. Kenya’s recent data protection fines targeting major players could restrict access to vital cross-border data, risking the competitiveness of local fintechs in an increasingly global marketplace, while Nigeria’s e-payment tax and South Africa’s expanded consumer protection laws could threaten the pace of digital innovation. As these regulations tighten, many industry leaders warn that the current regulatory environment is not just a hurdle—it’s a barrier to survival.  Can African fintechs adapt and thrive amidst growing regulatory pressures, or are they reaching a critical breaking point? 

Key Points:  

• Balancing stringent data compliance with the need for agile, innovative solutions
• Which data regulatory practices will attract international investors to the mobile banking payment market?
• What lessons can be learned from successful partnerships between governments, financial institutions, fintechs, and mobile network operators?