A majority of banks globally may not be economically viable because their returns on equity aren’t keeping pace with costs, McKinsey said in its annual review of the industry. It urged firms to take steps such as developing technology, farming out operations and bulking up through mergers ahead of a potential economic slowdown.
In its report, the firm said banks risk “becoming footnotes to history” as new entrants change consumer behavior. Most recent attempts by banks to boost efficiency have been “business-as-usual.”
Financial Markets across several African countries have seen significant improvements in the year 2018-19, says research conducted by OMFIF (Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum) and pan-African financial group Absa. OMFIF measures the countries’ financial markets based on market depth, access to foreign exchange, market transparency, tax and regulatory environment, the capacity of local investors, macroeconomic opportunity, and legality and enforceability of standard financial markets master agreements.
Countries such as Tanzania, Gambia, Uganda, Senegal, and Djibouti all recorded economic growth of more than six percent in 2018, while Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia even recorded more than seven percent. Egypt is also one of the fastest-growing economies. The demand in view of the growing population is great and the booming mobile phone market offers opportunities for new products and payment models in many places. With well over 18 million users in Kenya alone, M-Pesa is a huge success.
Countries such as Tanzania, Gambia, Uganda, Senegal, and Djibouti all recorded economic growth of more than six percent in 2018, while Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia even recorded more than seven percent. Egypt is also one of the fastest-growing economies. The demand in view of the growing population is great and the booming mobile phone market offers opportunities for new products and payment models in many places.
While they recognize the potential, many companies are struggling to realize the value from their AI investments, according to a major new study released by MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The report Winning With AI: Pioneers Combine Strategy, Organizational Behavior, and Technology, is based on a survey of more than 2,500 executives and 17 in-depth interviews with leading experts.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has emerged as a global leader in several SEDA dimensions, according to a new report compiled by Boston Global Consulting Group (BCG), titled Measure Well-Being to Improve It: The 2019 Sustainable Economic Development Assessment. Coordinated and prudent macroeconomic policies have underpinned the GCC’s steady economic growth – particularly in terms of income.
PwC Middle East launches its innovative, new platform, Digital Trust Manager. An intelligent, self-service, on demand digital platform, Digital Trust Manager offers a suite of tools to improve an organisation’s approach to digital risk. Digital Trust Manager is built on PwC’s proprietary methodologies and frameworks as well as international standards, providing organisations with cost effective access to the firm’s expertise.
While CEO’s in East Africa share the optimism of CEOs across the world, their concerns are vastly different from their global counterparts, according to a new report from Big Four accounting and advisory firm KPMG. Most are concerned with developing resilience within their own organization.
Leading professional services firm Deloitte has officially opened the doors to its latest in a network of global Digital Centres in Riyadh – marking the launch of Deloitte Digital in the Middle East. The establishment of the state-of-the-art centre was first announced early last year with support from the Saudi Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), and will serve to unlock the potential of innovative and disruptive technologies across the region.
Speaking at Mckinsey’s London headquarters at an event co-hosted with Sifted and executive search and leadership advisory firm Eric Salmon & Partners, Olanrewaju noted that Chinese fintechs are leading the way in product offering and monetisation. The key reason, he said, is that they have rapidly expanded across different verticals rather than specialising in specific services. It doesn’t stop there; leading company Ping An has gone beyond finance and branched into healthcare and housing services too.
Mercer has announced the launch of Mercer Money, an innovative digital financial wellness platform and mobile app that allows employees to manage all aspects of their personal finances in one place. Using open banking and the latest technology, Mercer Money provides a real-time view of current accounts, debt, savings, pensions, investments, mortgages and property values.
The GCC market needs more scalable ideas combining real estate and technology to tap into future opportunities in proptech. Quoting a latest KPMG survey during a presentation, 73 per cent of the real estate industry stakeholders see tech innovation as an opportunity, while 93 per cent believe that traditional real estate organizations need to engage with proptech companies in order to adapt to market changes.
IBM’s Dublin team worked with UK-based organization Stop the Traffik to develop the Traffik Analysis Hub, a secure cloud-based collaborative environment that allows financial institutions, NGOs and law enforcement to share data and expertise, helping to predict and disrupt trafficking and slave labour. The hub leverages AI technology that can help identify trafficking hotspots based on the shared data.
The announcement follows Masdar’s £35 million investment into the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, which aims to expand the number of rapid charging points publicly available to electric vehicle owners in the United Kingdom. Masdar’s partnership with ekar is further of its investment to promote low-carbon transport solutions in the UAE.
Business advisory firm KPMG UK has agreed an alliance with UK-based specialist research, innovation and investment agency Axillium to drive greater business investment in research and development (R&D). Axillium has supported nearly 200 organisations to move their innovation programmes forward and helped raise more than £210million in government grant funding.
The Government of Ghana has formally joined the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), becoming its first African member. The president of Ghana, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, pledged to address plastic leakage into the country’s oceans and waterways.
Accenture has acquired Bow & Arrow, a U.K.- based digital ventures consultancy that helps clients identify and create new digital products and services that fulfil unmet customer needs. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition strengthens Accenture Interactive’s ability to reinvent experiences for communications, media and technology companies, to help them seize new market and customer opportunities and diversify their revenue streams.
KPMG plans to cut about 65 of its UK partners, said two people with knowledge of the situation, marking its biggest single cut of partners in several years. The one-off cull of partners comes as the firm dramatically scales back its costs and restructures its operating model as it tries to recover from a reputational crisis and prepare for regulatory changes to the accounting sector.
INFOMINEO RESOURCES
A highlight of some of our resources to expand your knowledge on Africa and the Middle East.
The emerging delivery model of consultancies to meet client expectations is not limited to where a consultants time is spent. The manner in which project teams, research teams and outsourcing relationships are structured is also evolving to conform with the need for a higher level of industry and topic expertise and a stronger ability to drive change.
A global consulting firm sought to expand its information coverage within Africa and the Middle East. The firm was looking for an effective, quick to implement solution that would integrate smoothly with its existing research processes at a lower cost than hiring and retaining research analysts internally.
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Infomineo is a data and research service provider, that specializes in Africa and the Middle East, dedicated to supporting global companies in getting access to information that powers their investment decisions in the region. Through a direct presence in key markets such as the UAE, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco, Infomineo provides a quick access to market data on key questions such as: market and product prioritization, partner identification, commercial due diligence, route to market, supply chain mapping and competitive analysis among others. Along with conductingCustom Research for clients, Infomineo also delivers an Expert Network service and a Business Translation service.
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