AFRICA: Changing the Narrative
Episodes
Sunday Sep 22, 2019
Principles for Responsible Banking
Sunday Sep 22, 2019
Sunday Sep 22, 2019
On 22 September 2019, Standard Bank Group became a founding signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Banking. Alongside the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Standard Bank signed the first-ever global sustainability framework for the banking industry and committed to aligning its business strategy and practice with the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Sola David-Borha, Standard Bank Group’s Chief Executive for Africa Regions, signed the Principles for Responsible Banking document on behalf of the group, which played a role in developing the framework.
In this podcast, Sola David-Borha is speaking with Africa.com CEO, Teresa Clarke.
“The Principles align with Standard Bank’s purpose: to drive Africa’s growth and uplift her people by doing business the right way. They also support the group’s drive to maximise our social, economic and environmental impacts,” David-Borha says. “Standard Bank sees an opportunity to have a significant impact across the continent, given that we have the largest African footprint of all participating banks.”
The new framework, which has been designed for banks at any stage on their journey to sustainability came not a minute too soon. The COVID-19 pandemic, which took hold just as Standard Bank and other signatories were starting to implement the Principles, has served to highlight how reliant society is on healthy ecosystems and resilient economies.
Thursday Sep 05, 2019
Enabling Financial Inclusion and Innovation in a Converging World
Thursday Sep 05, 2019
Thursday Sep 05, 2019
Partnerships Are Key To Driving The Future Of Inclusive Payments In South Africa says Mark Elliott, President of Southern Africa MasterCard.
In this podcast, Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke discusses the future of payments in South Africa with Mark Elliott.
The financial services sector in South Africa is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. Rapid developments in digital technologies are both disrupting and enabling change in previously disconnected sectors, such as banking, telecommunications and retail. These advancements make digital payments and services more readily accessible and affordable to consumers and small businesses, but the usage of such products will be subject to how well payments providers collaborate to meet their needs. This is according to a new Mastercard and Deloitte Africa report “The future of payments in South Africa: Enabling financial inclusion and innovation in a converging world” released today on the side-lines of the World Economic Forum on Africa. The report states that if we are to achieve meaningful financial inclusion in South Africa, private and public sectors must collaborate to reduce the reliance on cash and encourage the use of digital payment methods and financial services to achieve more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. It is not yet a reality, but several developments are providing encouraging indications of progress.
– Mastercard Deloitte Report
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
Women Leaders In Africa: Building Careers
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
In this podcast, Africa.com talks with Patricia Obozuwa and Brenda Mbathi of GE Africa.
Patricia Obozuwa, Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer for GE Africa
Brenda Mbathi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for East Africa
The transcript is available here.