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<p>Collaboration, infrastructure and economic growth &#8211; three pillars needed to create new jobs in a country that has a 70 per cent youth employment rate, whilst also strengthen international relationships. This Focus On will highlight the new financial complex in the heart of Kinshasa and how the new financial centre will help improve financial services in the DRC.</p>


Focus On Kinshasa Financial Centre: Improving Financial Services

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<p>The results of the private-public partnership between DRC and Türkiye will be highlighted in the Focus On special. We find out the impact of the newly launched Kinshasa Financial Centre and the plans to implement more projects in DRC.</p>


Focus On Kinshasa Financial Centre: Strengthening Private-Public Partnerships


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417587" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance..jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



<p>Family Governance is not a buzzword. It has global economic relevance.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance, by SFO, partners with Stellenbosch Business School to pilot <em>AffinityLab</em>; a family focused research incubator to <em>nurture</em> and stimulate familial cooperation in Ultra-High-Net-Worth (UHNW) families.</p>



<p><strong>Featured in June/July 2022 issue of Forbes Africa </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417651" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



<p>Data from research providers in financial services and academia support the relevance of thinking in familial terms. Forbes projects the greatest wealth transfer in history from baby-boomers to next generation custodians, estimated at over 30 trillion dollars over the next 20 years, with significant inherent risk of failure.&nbsp; According to the Oxford Ownership Project, an estimated 70% of global businesses are owned by families.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Everyday interactions with family enterprises are closer to home for people buying products from big brands such as Louis Vuitton, Samsung and LEGO. Family governance is relevant, and it is in the interest of the world economy for family enterprises to grow, whereas the families which own them are likely to grow apart.</p>



<p>Family governance, especially familial cooperation, remains a challenging topic due to the complexity of relations in these organisations, compounded by the newly realised knowledge gap. Industry-wide, financial services professionals understand the need for sound governance but run the risk of putting the cart in front of the horse by relying on so-called best practices of what worked elsewhere. Rather, we as financial services professionals, should be working with families to develop the best familial cooperation practices that are relevant for them and their context.</p>



<p>A deeper understanding of cooperation within families is key to gain traction with family governance. But, if a family is unable to work together as a family of affinity foremost, one cannot reasonably expect wealth transfers to be sustainably successful.</p>



<p><em>AffinityLab</em> intends to address latent familial cooperation needs. UHNW families typically consist of multi-generational branches with members located in various jurisdictions, pushing global families to rethink wealth management strategies beyond investment performance. In times of geopolitical crises questions around goal-based investing are extending to goal-based living, reaffirming the need for a consolidated strategic approach to family governance. Starting with the need to establish Affinity as a primary goal of family and puts familial cooperation squarely in the research focus of <em>AffinityLab</em>.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p><em><strong>“Cooperation needs to be at the heart of family strategy for families to realise goal-based living together. Family Governance starts with Affinity.” – Gerrit Schmidt III (Chief Commercial Officer at SFO)</strong>. </em></p></blockquote>



<p>Entitlement and perceived inequitability frame familiar problems in UHNW families. These problems negatively influence family organisations and do not typically allow for cooperation or a sense of interrelated affinity. Furthermore, these problems intensify alienation and place unique strain on family branches, driving at best, superficial cooperation for short-term gains. Once this occurs, it is a question of time before the family implodes, dividing their assets at the cost of cooperating as a family.</p>



<p>The family is stronger by design if able to meaningfully engage members, at varying levels of involvement, in their enterprise. The purpose of an enterprising family should not be limited to a specific industry or specialism. Family purpose should, however, be specific to the ideals of working together as a purpose-led organisation with established collaboration from members who share the common vision and lived purpose. Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance by SFO specialises in family-management consulting by helping businesses and business families to realise these ideals. We design family structures conducive to nurturing inclusivity and developing proficient Ultimate Beneficial Owners.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Coming back to the idea of putting the cart in front of the horse, financial services providers should primarily be thinking in terms of succession development and designing purposeful family structures conducive to more than tax efficiency and return maximisation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The qualitative aspects of wealth management matter and the disruptive work of Africa’s first Institute for Family Governance has the potential to shift family enterprise futures, stimulating the global economy.</p>



<p>Family Governance starts with Affinity. Started by SFO. A family focused financial services group.</p>


Gerrit Schmidt III (MSc) is Chief Commercial Officer at SFO and Head of Affinity Research at Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance.

Family Governance Starts with Affinity

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<p>Nigerian fintech company TeamApt, says it is shifting the delivery of its financial services products from banks to consumers and businesses. The company’s CEO and Co-founder Tosin Eniolorunda says opportunities are underexplored in the journey to improve financial inclusion and the company excited about the prospects. He joins CNBC Africa&#8217;s Kenneth Igbomor for more details.</p>


TeamApt CEO on decision to shift business model

TeamApt CEO on decision to shift business model, outlines expansion plans

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<p>Traditional banking and financial services has been disrupted by the accelerated need for digitisation and fintech amid the Covid-19 crisis. Joining CNBC Africa to unpack how global markets and African financial services are surviving the current crisis is John Garvey, Global Financial Services leader at PwC.</p>


PwC on the outlook for traditional financial services amid COVID-19

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<p>Mastercard has launched Fintech Express designed to facilitate emerging fintechs’ launch and expansion in the Middle East and Africa. With the power of partnerships and Mastercard’s expertise, technology, and global network, start-ups will be able to focus on innovation that drives the digital economy. On more on this we had a conversation with Gaurang Shah, Senior Vice President, Digital payments and labs for Middle East and Africa at Mastercard.</p>


Mastercard empowers Middle East & Africa fintechs to launch and expand rapidly


<p>By Stephán Engelbrecht, Fund Management</p>



<p><strong><em>The world is entering an unprecedented time and there is no historical playbook for what happens next. While not our base case, calamity risk is increasing (mass infections across South Africa [SA], with dire economic consequences), and nobody knows how to quantify this risk. We have many requests from clients asking for investment opportunities in this crash and we are happy to share our fundamental views. However, investors in any equities must bear in mind that, in the shorter term, cheap shares can get even cheaper and wild swings are likely. Our views are based on a 12-to 24-month timeline, with a base case scenario of the world normalising during this time period. So, risks have to be taken into account and any investment in equities should be considered in this context. Shares only become this cheap when risks are extremely high.</em></strong></p>



<p>In times of extreme market volatility (and corrections), it is often unnecessary for investors to look far down the quality curve to find attractive opportunities that will generate significant returns in future. This is oftentimes the correct strategy as those economic uncertainties causing market volatility can have far more dire consequences for lower-quality businesses. This can make a company look inexpensive on the surface, but the upside might be limited as the business first has to struggle through an earnings trough, or raise equity to shore up its balance sheet which will, in turn, dilute current shareholder returns.</p>



<p>However, sometimes it is worth taking the risk. During market corrections, fundamentals are often ignored, and some market participants will sell a share at any price. It is at these prices where, we believe, the risk-return profile is so attractive that these counters deserve a small allocation in a diversified portfolio. These calculated risks may just turn out to be some of the best performers in an investor’s portfolio.</p>



<p>With that as background, we have scoured the SA market for some very exciting investment opportunities. We concede that these opportunities do come with some risks, whether it be debt, currency, regulation, liquidity or, in some cases, a combination of these factors, associated with them. Nevertheless, we believe that, at current valuation levels, the investor is more than compensated for such risks. So, put your hard hat on and prepare for some volatility although, at the end of the day, we are confident that a portfolio of these shares will reward investors handsomely.</p>



<p><strong>MTN Group</strong></p>



<p>If one were to draw up a list of countries where it is notoriously difficult to do business, and that also have extremely volatile regulatory and economic environments, the chances are that a large number of these nations will be among the 21 countries in which MTN operates. Initially, with major global mobile operators reluctant to enter these markets and regulations being fairly light, these countries held the appeal of attractive emerging market (EM) growth potential, with limited competition, for MTN. While this worked well in the beginning, over recent years MTN has appeared to stumble from one exogenous shock to the next – wars, extreme currency volatility, sanctions, exorbitant regulatory penalties and various lawsuits – but the company has weathered all these setbacks. MTN’s vulnerability to these exogenous events means that it is typically sold off, particularly aggressively during periods of risk aversion. This time around, the market sell-off was amplified by the collapse in the oil price, to which a number of MTN’s markets are vulnerable (especially Nigeria). With MTN’s share price falling below R40, the counter has now declined &gt;85% from its 2014 peak and it is currently trading at levels last seen in 2005.</p>



<p>In an industry where scale is critical, the significance of MTN being a top-two market share operator across all the markets in which it operates should not be underestimated. Where the telecommunications sector globally has largely been consigned by investors to the status of an ex-growth utility, MTN stands apart for several reasons. First, many of the Group’s markets still have further opportunities to increase penetration of mobile telecommunications and the potential to migrate those users to smart devices and drive data adoption. Second, while most developed market (DM) operators are confined to the provision of commoditised voice and data services, MTN is capitalising on opportunities to also add digital and mobile financial services.</p>



<p>Although MTN CEO, Rob Shuter has announced that he will be leaving the company at the end of his contract in one year’s time, he assembled a very competent management team during his tenure. Shuter has set the Group on a self-correction course. This includes the disposal of non-core assets, with proceeds being used to pay down debt (R14bn in sales were raised in the first year, with guidance of a further R25bn to be realised over the next few years) and paying particular attention to turning around some of the Group’s underperforming business units.</p>



<p>Since many of MTN’s new revenue streams do not require significant capital investment and are delivered through over-the-top platforms already in place, it has enabled the company to provide guidance of low double-digit revenue growth, margin expansion and relatively flat capital expenditure over the next 3-5 years. With the strong double-digit growth in free cash generation that this guidance implies, MTN is targeting annual dividend growth of 10%-20%.</p>



<p>Even at the bottom of the dividend guidance range, the prospective dividend yield is 15%, while the price as a multiple of expected earnings in 12 months’ time is 5x. No doubt, Brent Crude oil at below $30/bbl poses risk in the short term of foreign exchange availability and currency devaluation in Nigeria (MTN’s largest profit generator in FY19, accounting for c. 40% of group EBITDA). However, we are mindful of the oil industry saying, “the best cure for low oil prices, is low oil prices” and it is unlikely that the current situation will be sustained long term. At current levels, we believe there is now enough of a margin of safety in MTN’s share price to compensate for the risks it presents, with the potential for a strong recovery as current headwinds abate.</p>



<p><strong>Investec</strong></p>



<p>Over the past four decades, Stephen Koseff and Bernard Kantor created an institution. Built on the foundation of entrepreneurship and being agile and nimble to service its customers, the distinctive zebra logo became one of the most widely recognised symbols in SA financial markets.</p>



<p>In the early 2000s, Investec started to expand offshore with the UK being a key target market. Unfortunately, the UK’s highly competitive banking environment, ever more draconian and complex regulation and a global financial crisis (GFC) that hit just as Investec started to expand aggressively in the UK, made the experience far more lacklustre than the firm’s local successes. However, the company stayed the course, and, over time, Investec has built a strong UK presence.</p>



<p>Nevertheless, the UK remains a considerable drag on the Group’s profitability and ROE. Since the disastrous acquisition of Kensington in 2007 and the harsher regulatory environment post the 2008 GFC, Investec’s UK division has struggled to achieve a ROE greater than its cost of capital. This has resulted in Investec rightfully trading at a discount to its book value for significant periods since the GFC.</p>



<p>This discount to book value reached extremely low levels during the current sell-off, trading at close to 0.3x book. In addition, it coincides with some real positive changes taking root at Investec. The old guard has moved on and the new management team have taken decisive steps to improve the profitability of the bank.</p>



<p>Management unbundled the asset management division to make the structure less complex, committed to improving the cost-to-income ratio in the UK and promised that there were no sacrosanct segments of the business that will not be cut in the event of underperformance. We are still at the initial stages of the new regime and it will be interesting to see whether management can indeed improve the UK division’s ROE.</p>



<p>Although we acknowledge that Investec is not the highest-quality bank in the world and its earnings growth and ROE profile are far more volatile than its SA peers, we believe that the current share price provides an opportunity to enter at depressed multiples that more than sufficiently reflect the lower quality. And, the investor may yet benefit from an improvement in operating metrics as the new management team start their work.</p>



<p><strong>Redefine</strong></p>



<p>In recent years, many SA (and global) conservative investors squirrelled their savings away in property shares to earn an attractive, growing income. This bubble burst over the last few months and even the highest quality property companies have seen their value decimated. Selected YTD (to 25 March) declines among local property counters include Growthpoint (-45%), Redefine (-74%), Resilient (-46%), Nepi Rockcastle (-40%), Vukile (-63%), Attacq (-58%) and Hyprop (-60%). This follows already steep share price drops across the board in 2019.</p>



<p>The dire economic outlook for SA had already impacted Redefine’s share price hard when the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) hit and the whole property sector is now in crisis. These are unprecedented times and the world has changed in the last few weeks. Some tenants (especially in the retail sector) will earn little or no turnover for some time, and we have no doubt that they will want to renegotiate rentals with landlords. Some smaller tenants will go bankrupt. It is clear to us that the property sector will be reset after panic around the virus has subsided. Thus, the fate of many property companies is largely dependent on SA banks, who have very strong balance sheets and who, we believe, will be very co-operative in working with these companies to navigate the way through the current crisis. Although loan-to-value (LTV) ratio levels are all stated in the debt covenants for property companies, we think that the credit providers’ focus will turn from LTV ratios to interest cover, cash flow and sustainability. It is not in the interests of the banks to “pull the plug” on some of their biggest clients. We expect Redefine to work its way through this scenario together with the banks, with “reset” value emerging.</p>



<p>Management have acknowledged that they have no idea where rentals will settle, and they will largely depend on the health of the economy and the tenant. About 30% of retail turnover is from “safe” companies such as food retailers, cellphone companies and banks. Many office tenants will remain robust and industrial/logistics rentals will depend on tenant quality. So, it is not a disaster across the board, but months of hard negotiations will follow.</p>



<p>However, for investors, LTV ratios will remain a key metric and something which Redefine will have to address. At its last results presentation (FY19), Redefine had an LTV ratio of 43%. To highlight the spiral, if we assume the company had R100 of book value and R43 of debt – that 43% LTV is only just within its debt covenants. If the book value is written down by 25%, the LTV ratio goes up to 57%! Asset sales are usually a partial solution, but this looks increasingly unachievable. Withholding dividend payments becomes the next, and most likely, scenario. If a company can generate an 8% yield on book value (we are assuming no tax payable, which may be contentious), ploughing this back into debt repayments (as opposed to dividends), with a two-year dividend holiday, can reduce the LTV ratio from 57% to 41% – back into the covenant zone. We note that Redefine has already announced a delay in its interim dividend payment.</p>



<p>A big issue with withholding dividends is taxation. REIT (Real estate investment trust) legislation allows companies designated as such, to not pay tax and to distribute income to shareholders who receive the distribution as taxable income. If REITs do not distribute 75% of their income, then the current rules say they must pay tax on their income. We believe the property sector is in the process of negotiating with Treasury in an attempt to waive this rule – at least for a once-off time period.</p>



<p>We conclude that in a base-case scenario, the adjusted book value will be well below current book values, but higher than the share prices. We calculate that Redefine is fundamentally worth 50%-100% more than its current share price (unless Armageddon prevails!). But there is a high risk of shareholders not getting dividends for one, or even two, years. The share price is factoring in a far worse scenario than our base case. But investors should focus on the balance sheet and track closely the progress the firm makes in degearing.</p>



<p>There is a long road ahead, but we believe that, in the end, we will look back at this as a great opportunity to buy the share.</p>



<p><strong>Northam Platinum</strong></p>



<p>The platinum group metals (PGM) miners were the talking point of 2019. After being priced for bankruptcy in 2018, the price of the PGM basket recovered in 2019 resulting in the share prices of these miners rallying by 250% or more. The higher basket price helped these miners reduce their leverage with some of the mining companies going into a net cash position. It was a remarkable turnaround and highlighted just how cyclical the fortunes of these businesses are. Which begs the question, do you want to buy into such a cyclical industry in these uncertain times?</p>



<p>It is a fair question, and the answer very much depends on the risk tolerance of the investor. The reason why we are comfortable with a small position in Northam is due to the precarious demand-supply balance which the industry faced going into the COVID-19 crisis.</p>



<p>Prior to 2019, the threat of electric vehicles (EVs) caused the PGM basket price to remain below the breakeven price for mining companies and they battled to survive. Capital expenditure was cut across the board, with mining firms struggling to pay for maintenance capex, not to even mention expansionary capex.</p>



<p>Then, in 2019, the combination of a greater focus on carbon emission worldwide, the more enhanced testing after the VW scandal and the lack of R&amp;D in combustion engines over the preceding few years forced vehicle manufacturers to just add more and more PGMs in their respective catalytic converters as emission standards became more onerous. With the costs of PGMs &nbsp;a small fraction of the total vehicle production cost, they had the luxury to do this. Demand for these metals surged and the miners were not in a position to increase supply. This caused PGM prices to rally, with rhodium and palladium hitting all-time highs.</p>



<p>In our view, this situation will not change in the short- to medium-term, despite the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent decline in global vehicle sales. We expect demand to remain strong due to higher emission standards. Importantly, the threat of EVs, which are expected to be close to 50% of global vehicle sales by 2030, will prevent PGM miners from investing in new mines, thus keeping a constraint on the supply response.</p>



<p>Northam is one of the few PGM miners that will see strong volume growth over the next few years. Due to some tough decisions taken by management during the lean years, the company was able to shore up its balance sheet and it continued to invest in operations. As a result, we expect Northam’s annual production volumes to increase from c. 600k ounces this year to 1mn ounces over the next few years. Northam’s mines are also of a very high quality, operating at very low operating costs due to mechanisation. Trading at very attractive valuations and offering significant earnings (at spot PGM prices) and production growth, Northam is a high-quality operator in a very cyclical industry.</p>



<p><strong>Alviva Holdings</strong></p>



<p>Alviva Holdings is not an exciting company! But it is one of the Africa’s largest providers of information and communication technology (ICT) products and services. The Group has three business segments – ICT Distribution, which imports ICT hardware and software and sells it into sub-Saharan Africa via resellers, Services and Solutions, which provides system integration and ICT solution services, and Financial Services, which provides leasing finance to small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) for their ICT products.</p>



<p>The risks to this business are real. It is difficult to see Alviva continuing to operate in the same verticals and products as it is currently working, in five years’ time. This is due to the ever-changing industry in which it operates. For example, cloud storage and processing will, likely, fundamentally change the role ICT service providers play in the lives of their customers. To survive, ICT service providers will have to adapt their business models quickly and also ensure that they have a balance sheet strong enough to absorb any shocks.</p>



<p>We believe that Alviva has both these traits. It has a very experienced and conservative management team, which have navigated through some very turbulent times in the past and we maintain that management should be able to continue to do so in future. In addition, management have also been conserving cash. Over the past few years, they have adopted a very conservative dividend policy, paying out only 10% of earnings in dividends.</p>



<p>At our last engagement with management, they conceded that the operating environment is very tough at the moment, adding that they were very disappointed in the company’s performance but that it should improve in the second half. Management have guided that they will first look to retire around R400mn in preference shares, after which they will engage with shareholders regarding potential share buybacks. Admittedly, this was before the COVID-19 outbreak.</p>



<p>However, Alviva’s valuation is ridiculous – it is currently trading at a historic PE ratio of c. 2x and a normalised free cash flow yield of 50% (and we believe that we are being conservative here), so the risk-reward profile for investors is very much skewed to the upside. Liquidity is a concern and we highlight that investors should be patient if investing in this counter.</p>


Our top share picks for the brave investor: Finding opportunities in times of adversity

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<p>Technological disruptions have been revolutionising entire business models from financial services, to retail and more. So how can Africa’s health systems benefit from this trend? Osh Agabi, Founder and CEO of Koniku joins CNBC Africa&#8217;s Esther Awoniyi to explore how innovation can help drive growth and improve health outcomes in Africa&#8230;.</p>


How innovation can drive Africa’s healthcare systems

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Kenya has over the last decade experienced a significant growth in access to formal financial services with over 80 per cent of the population financially included. However, there has been a drop in usage of traditional bank accounts mainly due to cost. Francis Gwer, Policy specialist at FSD Kenya joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Traditional Kenyan banks losing customers despite growth in access to financial services

Traditional Kenyan banks losing customers despite growth in access to financial services, here’s why


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; MTN’s mobile money service will go live in January in South Africa, allowing customers to send, receive, save money and pay for goods using their mobile phones, the mobile operator said on Wednesday.</p>



<p>Last year group Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter told a telecoms conference in Cape Town that the company would relaunch mobile money services in South Africa, three years after canning the service.</p>



<p>Shuter, who has experience in banking, is in the middle of a strategic revamp of Africa’s biggest telecoms group to hunt for returns in everything from financial services, music and video games.</p>



<p>“The introduction of this mobile money service is a pivotal step in MTN’s strategy and represents MTN’s participation in the next phase of increasing convergence we are seeing between financial services and mobile technology,” MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa said in a statement.</p>



<p>The service, called MoMo, will run on the Ericsson Converged Wallet. During the initial phase it will be available to MTN customers and offer basic services such as sending money to any mobile phone number in the country, buying prepaid services like electricity and paying for purchases at selected till points, the firm said.</p>



<p>MTN will kick off the service in a country where about 11 million South Africans remain unbanked, while 50% of the adult population remains thinly served, according to MTN South Africa Chief Officer of Mobile Financial Services, Felix Kamenga.</p>



<p>“MoMo aims to bridge this gap with this innovative mobile money offering, providing a payments solution that encourages financial inclusion,” he added.</p>



<p>The announcement comes months after a subsidiary of MTN Nigeria was granted a “full super agent” licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria that would allow it to provide financial services.</p>



<p>Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Mark Heinrich</p>


MTN South Africa’s mobile money service expected to go live in Jan 2020

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<p>There have been conversations on expanding women&#8217;s access to financial services and support to women led initiatives. Solomon Lartey, Managing Director at ACTIVA International Insurance Company In Ghana Ltd joins CNBC Africa on insuring assets.</p>


Global Gender Summit: How making insurance policies inclusive expand womens’ access to financial services

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<p>For the people of Pokot and Turkana in Western Kenya, formal access to financial services is yet to become an option. In a bid to access financial services, these people have gone ahead to set up their own savings initiatives known as Chamaas. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera spoke to GRP Innovation Challenge winner, Caleb Wafula for more.</p>


How this savings initiative is empowering Kenyans economically

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<p>A recent World Bank report showed that the youth and women are the most financially excluded groups in Africa. On how to overcome some of the challenges faced by young people in accessing financial services, Managing Partner WS Technology, Martin Warioba joins CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera for more.</p>


Is Africa doing enough to improve financial inclusion for women and youth?

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<p>35 million women in Sub-Saharan Africa are excluded from financial services and with the rise of Fintech’s policy makers believe this number will be greatly reduced. To discuss this issue, Rwanda’s Deputy Governor, Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa joins CNBC Africa’s Arnold Kwizera for more.</p>


Monique Nsanzabaganwa on closing financial inclusion gender gap in Africa

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<p>Accenture says innovation creates a foundation for growth and business sustainability in the digital era.  Toluwaleke Adenmosun, Managing Director of Accenture Financial Services Nigeria joins CNBC Africa to discuss how the financial services industry should approach innovation.</p>


Accenture’s Toluwaleke Adenmosun talks  innovation in the financial services industry

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<p>As part its rebranding exercise, financial services company, UAE Exchange has announced the rebranding of its Africa operations as “Unimoni”. The firm looks to expand operations to five new markets in the region by 2020 and ultimately reach under serviced population. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss this is Promoth Manghat, Executive Director of Finablr.</p>


UAE Exchange rebrands to Unimoni, looks to expand in Africa

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<p>Over 3.5 billion people globally are underserved when it comes to financial services. There, presents an opportunity for new financial forms hitting emerging markets. Tricia Martinez, Founder &#038; CEO of Wala joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


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financial services

Focus On Kinshasa Financial Centre: Improving Financial Services

Focus On Kinshasa Financial Centre: Strengthening Private-Public Partnerships

Family Governance Starts with Affinity

TeamApt CEO on decision to shift business model, outlines expansion plans

PwC on the outlook for traditional financial services amid COVID-19

Mastercard empowers Middle East & Africa fintechs to launch and expand rapidly

Our top share picks for the brave investor: Finding opportunities in times of adversity

How innovation can drive Africa’s healthcare systems

Traditional Kenyan banks losing customers despite growth in access to financial services, here’s why

MTN South Africa’s mobile money service expected to go live in Jan 2020

Global Gender Summit: How making insurance policies inclusive expand womens’ access to financial services

How this savings initiative is empowering Kenyans economically

Is Africa doing enough to improve financial inclusion for women and youth?

Monique Nsanzabaganwa on closing financial inclusion gender gap in Africa

Accenture’s Toluwaleke Adenmosun talks innovation in the financial services industry

UAE Exchange rebrands to Unimoni, looks to expand in Africa

Bitcoin is a victim of its own success – Wala CEO

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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