• Jamie Dimon embarks on a strategic journey in October seeking to grow the US banking giant’s footprint in Africa.
• This will be Dimon’s return to Africa after seven years.
• The lender’s CEO will be touring Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ivory Coast.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is set to visit Africa in mid-October, marking his first trip to the continent in seven years. The head of the largest U.S. lender, with assets exceeding $4.1 trillion, will visit key markets, including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ivory Coast, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Dimon’s visit comes as JPMorgan aims to expand its presence in Africa, a continent ripe for investment opportunities, where both sovereign debt and corporate deals are becoming increasingly attractive to global banks.

With the bank already operating in South Africa and Nigeria, this trip signals JPMorgan’s intent to deepen its foothold in African markets, …

• Africa received loans worth $4.6 billion from China last year, an increase from what economies across the continent received in 2022.
• This amount is, however, a far cry from Beijing’s massive infrastructure financing witnessed before the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Beijing will host African leaders for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation between September 4th-6th.

A total of nine countries in Africa received Chinese loans worth $4.6 billion last year, an increase from what economies across the continent received in 2022. However, this amount is a far cry from Beijing’s massive infrastructure financing that was witnessed before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new statistics from the Boston University Global Development Policy Centre come just days before Beijing hosts African leaders for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, scheduled for September 4th-6th.

In 2023, lenders from China processed approximately 13 loans targeting various projects across the continent with the biggest beneficiary being players in the financial …

• The strong performance of key subsidiaries in Rwanda, DRC, and Kenya largely drove growth in customer deposits.
• Equity South Sudan emerged as a standout performer, posting a 48% jump in revenue.
• Collectively, the subsidiaries accounted for 55% of the group’s revenue and 58% of pre-provision operating profits.

In the six months to June 2024, regional lender Equity Group posted strong results amid a tough macroeconomic environment marked by high interest rates and currency woes.

An analysis of the Group’s performance shows that subsidiaries spread in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, and South Sudan played a pivotal role in bolstering its financial performance.

The subsidiaries’ performance helped cushion the lender from the impact of external pressures on the overall earnings.

Equity Group reported a 12.5 per cent year-on-year jump in net earnings, reaching $230.2 million (KSH29.62 billion) in the first half of 2024. This growth was underpinned by …

• A key aspect of the ShafDB and CPF Group alliance is the setup of a Housing Solutions Fund for Kenya.
• By co-financing projects and providing capital raising and technical support, this Fund aims to catalyze the development of affordable housing across Kenya.
• The ShafDB and CPF Group alliance exemplifies the potential of Public Private Partnerships to drive meaningful change in the housing sector.

Kenya’s housing crisis has long been a pressing issue, with millions of citizens lacking access to decent and affordable housing. However, a new development seeks to address this challenge, following a partnership between two key players in the housing sector—Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) and CPF Group.

This collaboration, sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), aims to scale up the development of large-scale affordable housing projects across the country.

A strategic partnership for affordable housing

The agreement between ShafDB and CPF …

• Kenyan Banks Hit by fresh $1.2 Billion Bad Loans in 2023 according to a new report by the Central Bank of Kenya
• The regulator says it is concerned by the sharp rise in bad loans and is working closely with lenders to mitigate the crisis.
• Kenyan banks hit by fresh $1.2 billion bad loans as global interest rates remained high throughout the year.

The high cost of living due to weak currency and shakeups in the global supply chain saw banks suffer an additional $1.2 billion (Sh150 billion) in bad loans in 2023, pushing the total to $4.98 billion (Sh651.8 billion).

The Banking Supervision Report by the Central Bank released Thursday shows the deterioration in banks’ asset quality was the highest in the past five years and almost 30 per cent compared to the previous year. The gross non-performing loans for 2022 were $3.85billion (Sh503.2 billion).

Non-performing loans were concentrated …

• Central Bank of Kenya says active mobile subscriptions hit 66.8 million by December 2023 compared to 65.7 million a year earlier.
• Increasing usage of mobile money saw the banking industry in Kenya experience a drop in the value of banking transactions via bank agents to $10.5 billion.
• Kenya is a trailblazer in the adoption and usage of mobile money across Africa.

A steady rise in the use of cashless transactions as well as the opening of 8,555 new mobile money agent shops in Kenya drove the value of mobile money transactions up by 13.8 percent to record KSh788.35 billion or $6 billion in 2023.

Kenya has been a trailblazer in the adoption and usage of mobile money across Africa since the launch of pioneer cash transfer platform M-PESA by Safaricom PLC in 2007.

“Amidst the increasing adoption of technology and the widespread use of mobile phones in daily life, coupled …