Africa’s retail banking industry is growing tremendously. Developments in banks across Africa especially in the western region, in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana are moving at a rapid pace. These developments however require stronger infrastructure and comparative rules than currently existing, in order for the industry to be sustainable over the long run.

The neglected bottom part of the pyramid and where banking penetration varies significantly from one country to another are some of the bigger challenges that Africa’s retail banks must face along with the cost of building the extensive branch networks. Banking services are overshadowed by the ever growing presence of payment solutions companies and mobile operators in providing low-cost alternatives. What can banks do to catch up while keeping profitability in mind?

As technological solutions gain prevalence bringing down the barriers to market, banks must focus on a customer-oriented culture and push the envelope of innovation in customer service. While banks seek to boost their market presence in the unbanked regions of Africa, they will need to leverage on the right solutions to address current trends. The fact that a vast majority of the region’s population remain unbanked makes the Africa market a very appealing one to banks.

The Asian Banker, a leading provider of research and intelligence in the financial services industry, will be organising the first international retail banking roundtable in Lagos, Nigeria for the benefit of decision makers in the West Africa region.

The dialogue will bring together an advisory panel from other parts of the world who will contribute their own insights into the experiences of leading decision makers in the region. This include Paul Steenkamp, Head: Innovation Capability (Personal & Business Banking), Standard Bank Group and leading innovation expert; Martin Buchholz, experienced technology consultant having vast experience of heading many technology and payments projects in different financial institutions across Asia.

The dialogue will be supported by in-depth research from The Asian Banker.

This dialogue will focus broadly on the following goals:

• Facilitating greater fertilisation of ideas in terms of retail banking technology and innovation.
• Managing risks while catering the demands of retail banking customers
• Improving channel innovation and customer reach
• Identifying benchmarks and best practices in emanating from different situations.
• Internalizing different possible responses to global retail banking trends.

This dialogue will also provide partner organisations, including financial institutions, consulting firms and technology providers an opportunity to interact with key decision makers in West Africa’s retail banking landscape.