Top African finance industry players to meet in Lome

The first edition of Africa Financial Industry summit will take place in Lome, Togo on November 28 and 29.

Organized by the Jeune Afrique, the event will bring together nearly 700 bankers and insurers, but also actors from Fintech, capital markets and microfinance to exchange ideas and propose solutions to advance the financing of African economies.

"It is above all a platform for public-private diaolgoue in favor of a sovereign Africa capable of financing its own infrastructure and major transformation projects," said Frédéric Maury, the Managing Chief Operating Officer of Jeune Afrique.

Among the solutions to boost the African finance industry, Maury proposes the injection of equity capital to help the development of African banks, but also the implementation of an adapted regulatory framework.

"It is necessary that the regulation obviously follows the international trends and the protection in particular of savers and depositors but it is necessary that the regulation in Africa is able to accompany the growth of the sector, and not act as brakes," he said.

While the African banking and insurance sector experienced sustained growth through 2019, the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine have affected the profitability of banks and sent interest rates soaring.