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Standard Chartered sustains Africa initiative, commits $3b

By Chijioke Nelson
15 August 2016   |   2:17 am
Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited said the banking group is positive on Africa’s growth potential, as it reiterated plans to step up investments and leverage its unique footprint and international banking expertise to drive growth in the continent.
Standard chartered bank Nigeria

Standard chartered bank Nigeria

Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited said the banking group is positive on Africa’s growth potential, as it reiterated plans to step up investments and leverage its unique footprint and international banking expertise to drive growth in the continent.

Already, the bank has committed $3 billion in strategic investments globally, over the next three years, which has already seen Africa benefiting with a multi-market upgrade of digital and mobile banking platforms.

In Africa, it has currently supported over one million retail customers and over 25,000 commercial, corporate and institutional clients.Through a new brand campaign titled: “Here for Africa”, the lender is now reiterating commitment to investing in Africa’s future, and continuing to support key growth sectors across local economies, including infrastructure, telecommunications, transport, retail and trade.Standard Chartered operates across 38 African economies, 16 on a full-presence basis and 22 on a transactional basis, with 180 branches and outlets.

The Regional Chief Executive Officer of Africa and Middle East, Sunil Kaushal, said: “Africa is an integral and a valuable economic partner region within our unique footprint across the region, Asia and the Middle East. This campaign is about our show of commitment and confidence in a continent that we have been in for over 150 years.

“We consider ourselves truly African – every one of our Sub Saharan CEOs is African, our people who lead and manage our strategy are African, and our strategy is tailored to the suit Africa’s specific trends and business dynamics. We are indeed Here for good and Here for Africa.

“We believe in forging strong partnerships, which deliver tangible value for all members of Africa’s economies, not just our clients. Our $5 billion commitment to President Obama’s Power Africa campaign, in partnership with African governments, continues to light up new homes and companies to spur income and growth.

“We are encouraging foreign and regional investment in our role as ratings advisor to numerous African governments, linking Africa’s growth potential with more investors across Asia and the Middle East.  Africa remains a key area of strategic investment for us as a Group, as we focus in building our own strong franchise and growing safely across the continent.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Cameroun and Cote D’Ivoire, Bola Adesola, said the launch of “Here for Africa” campaign in Nigeria is in efforts to deliver tangible benefits to support local economic growth.

“These benefits include development of human capital; roll-out of digital banking solutions to more than 200,000 retail customers; sovereign advisory expertise and support as Sovereign Ratings Advisor to the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance; attracting new investor capital from across Europe, U.S., Middle East and Asia, as well as empowering local entrepreneurs by bridging the gap between large multinationals and local suppliers through our successful supply chain financing proposition.

“All these initiatives help reinforce our legacy and aspirations to support the financial success of our clients while partnering with the government and Central Bank of Nigeria to build an economically stable environment for Nigerians,” she said.

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