Nedbank’s commitment to growth and prosperity in Africa

Dr Terence Sibiya, Nedbank Africa Regions Managing Executive

This May, Nedbank has marked Africa Month, with a focus on our commitment to the continent’s economic growth potential, innovative spirit and track record of sustainable development rooted in shared value and prosperity.

While the rate of economic growth in some of the largest regional economies may lag that of smaller countries which are growing rapidly off a lower base, there is consensus that over the medium to long-term, Africa’s potential offers significant opportunities for the financial services sector. Nedbank is already a major player in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with presence in six countries, namely South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and representative offices in Kenya and Ghana. In addition, Nedbank has a strategic investment in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), giving clients access to the widest banking network in thirty-nine countries.

Our ambition in Africa is to leverage our enterprise capabilities and digital strategies to drive meaningful socio-economic development that drives sustainable economic growth and serves the communities, countries and economies where we operate. We aim to be the continent’s number one digital financial services provider and are investing significantly in a harmonised user experience for our clients across the region.

Our digital strategy is aligned to the United Nations SDG 10 pillar of reducing inequalities, and increasing financial inclusion, particularly in underserved areas. There is therefore no doubt that the digital transformation taking place across the continent is not only a game changer but that will serve as a catalyst to economic growth, beneficiation and industrialisation, reducing unemployment and poverty along the way. 

We have seen how mobile and digital technology has transformed the financial and banking sector in markets such as Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. The impact this has on individual banking customers is significant; for example, with digital connectivity and access to mobile financial services, people can build up a credit history enabling them to widen their portfolio, and access micro and business lending solutions. Smart phone and internet penetration is increasing across the continent, which is an opportunity to introduce more digitally-enabled products and services, especially for small and medium enterprises, which are a key driver for growth and employment creation contributing about 60% of the continent’s GDP. 

Nedbank’s commitment to driving growth is underpinned by targeted digital initiatives, including API_Marketplace which is the first application programme interface of its kind on the continent. The bank has now scaled the platform and is driving its embedded finance strategy. The number of third parties active on API_Marketplace continues to grow and increased to 64 in 2024. In 2023, Nedbank extended our API product offering to Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini, having enabled EFT payments and wallet APIs.

As global banking technology evolves, we will continue to offer Nedbank clients, - be they corporate, commercial, or mobile retail banking clients - world-class tech and sustainable financing solutions geared towards driving shareholder value-creation. We expect these efforts will consolidate our position as a leading bank on the continent. 

This Africa month we say, we are for growth on the continent, and look forward to building on the prosperity and value creation already achieved for our stakeholders.

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