Banks and fintech startups across Africa are increasingly collaborating, working together to roll out innovative solutions to existing bank customers and trying to give more people access to financial services. Banks are running startup accelerators, and in some cases investing in fintech startups. Camilla Swart is ecosystem manager at Rise, the startup space launched by Barclays – now rebranded as Absa – in Cape Town in 2015, from where the bank runs its Techstars-powered accelerator programmes. George Wakaria, vice president of cash management for Citibank in Kenya, highlights the recent Global Fintech Report released by PwC, which found 50 per cent of financial services firms were planning to acquire fintech startups over the next three to five years. “A business that is set up to run an existing model – for example a corporate – is very different from a startup.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 28, 2018 06:00 UTC