World Bank Hosts Global Launch of Book on ‘Africa’s Financial Sector’

-          Equity Bank featured in the book as a Case Study for Best Practice in Africa.

Equity Group Director of Strategy, Mary Wamae and other panelists during a panel discussion at the World Bank  global book launch that took place this week in Washington DC. In the book on ‘Africa’s Financial Sector’, Equity Bank was featured as a best practice case study for banking in Africa.

The global book launch of “Developing Africa’s Financial Services - The Importance of High-Impact Entrepreneurship” took place on June 6, 2017, at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Equity Bank, which is featured in the book as one of the best practice case studies was represented by the Group’s Director of Strategy, Mrs Mary Wamae. 

Speaking during a panel discussion at the ceremony, she discussed the Bank in the context of the financial sector in sub-Saharan Africa. “When Equity started, only 4 percent of the population had bank accounts. There was a lot of “mattress banking. Equity had to have a strategy to compete with “mattress banking” by challenging old banking norms in order to remove roadblocks to financial inclusion” Mrs Wamae said.

She also noted that the Bank’s model has evolved over time. “Equity started with brick and mortar approach, opening branches in all regions including the remote areas, but could never be close enough to people. The bigger question was how to get even closer to the people? This led to the introduction of the Agency Banking model. Now the banker is the shopkeeper next to them, and going to a bank has become much less intimidating,” she said.

“We are seeing very interesting dynamics developing out of mobile banking driven by the needs of the young population in our markets. We are making banking part of their lifestyle by affording them the choice and control over their financial needs so that they can free up their time. We are transforming the bank from ‘a place you go’ to ‘an activity that you do. Our Vision is to be the social economic champion for the people in Africa, through financial intermediation. We are empowering people, which is exactly what society needs us to do,” She added.

The other panelists were Augusto Baptista from Banco, Millennium Atlantico of Angola and António Correia from Banco Único of Mozambique.

The Book editor, Dana Redford, Ph.D., President of the Policy Experimentation & Evaluation Platform (PEEP) presented the book, and Nuno Mota Pinto, Alternate Director at The World Bank Group, presented the overall theme. Several other high-profile representatives from the banks featured in the book participated.

Presenting the book at the launch, Dr. Dana said; “It is amazing to work with Africans because of their can-do-attitude. The book strives to look at new models for development. To better understand Africa-based solutions. And these stories show that Africa can be an inspiration to the world. “Equity Bank is a powerful example, Nuno Mota Pinto noted, “These are challenging times, and banking in Africa is an exciting sector, which this book captures.”

International experts have also given praise to the book including, Fatima Haram Acyl, Commissioner for Trade and Industry, African Union Commission who reveals “A dynamic and efficient African financial sector is critical for economic transformation and inclusive growth. And the importance of high-impact entrepreneurship development cannot be overemphasized.  With “Africa rising,” the continent boasts remarkable entrepreneurial success stories, well documented in this timely book. These efforts must be sustained to unlock Africa’s full potential.” 

 On his part, Prof. Carlos Lopes, Former Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa says, “In Africa nothing comes small as ambition is necessary for a significant catch-up. However, as this book clearly demonstrates, latecomer advantage should play a role in boosting opportunities. No less so with high-impact entrepreneurship banking. Fortunately, this is already happening but not fast enough and without the scale required. The contributions of this book show the path and set the tone for what is yet another great opportunity for the continent.”

 Also present was Prof. Carlos Lopes, Former Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa who while moderating at the book launch reiterates, “Job creation is one of the great priorities for sub-Saharan Africa, and the role for African governments is not to create jobs themselves, but to create an enabling environment that will allow small enterprises to flourish and grow. This book is an essential part of the process, providing a blueprint for a thriving SME sector in Africa.”