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Africa s biggest lender, Standard Bank, prepares for post-Covid economic recovery

By Roxanne Henderson (Bloomberg) – Africa’s biggest lender sees opportunity in both its core South African market and the rest of the continent amid a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. “South Africa is fiercely competitive,” Standard Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Sim Tshabalala said in an interview on Thursday. “We have to continue making investments” there. The Johannesburg-based lender is also ready to take advantage of consolidation throughout Africa, where it has a presence in 20 countries, he said. Standard Bank has increasingly turned its focus outward in recent years, with Africa producing the fastest-growing parts of its business last year and contributing about a quarter of its total income.

Money is pouring into African fintechs

Money is pouring into African fintechs Fintech companies in Africa raised more capital in 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, standing in contrast to their emerging market peers such as Latin America that saw a decline. The continent saw fintech funding, including mergers and acquisitions, grow to US$1.35-billion (R19.3-billion) last year from $1-billion in 2019, according to a report by BFA Global’s Catalyst Fund and Briter Bridges published on Thursday. While Indian and Latin American fintech companies still raised more money than those in Africa, their volumes fell from the previous year as they battled to close later-stage deals. “The numbers of pre-seed and seed deals in Africa are increasing,” the report said. “While Latin America and India are seeing a growing number of mega-deals, African markets are only beginning to see a few such late-stage deals.”

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