South vs West: African banking majors scramble for East African market
From left: Ralph Opara, Access Bank Kenya Managing Director; Barbara Barungi, Board Chairperson of Access Bank Kenya and National Bank of Kenya; and George Odhiambo, Managing Director of National Bank of Kenya, at a previous event.
Top lenders from Nigeria and South Africa, two of the continent’s biggest economies, are scrambling for a share of the banking market in East Africa as the region’s retail and trade finance business presents mouth-watering opportunities for banking conglomerates seeking to boost revenues and provide decent returns to shareholders.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), lenders are aggressively increasing their presence in East Africa, home to some of the fastest-growing economies in Africa.
