From a commercial point of view, African banks are under siege - on the one hand by mobile operators who have stolen the initiative from them in mobile banking, and on the other by microfinance institutions, who are leading the way in banking the unbanked.
This is according to Aitec Africa, the company which focuses on ICT publishing, event management, professional development and training in Africa.
To unpack these issues, Aitec will host its annual Banking and Mobile Money Conference at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya, from 2 to 3 March 2011.
Aitec says the conference will tap on issues in the banking industry in Africa by addressing issues that come with the increased regional economic integration. “Banks have to develop effective systems for seamless cross-border transactions,” it adds.
“The emphasis of the programme is on practical experience and knowledge sharing with the objective of equipping participants with the knowledge they need to compete in the rapidly evolving financial services landscape,” the company points out.
The theme of the 2011 conference is “Strategies for a new era of financial integration” in response to the accelerated drive for regional business across borders. The East African Business Council is supporting the event as a platform to promote effective financial services to support the accelerating business drive across the region, Aitec promises.
Aitec says the first decade of the new millennium has probably been the most traumatic ever for the international banking industry, because of the financial downturn. “Added to that, the African region's mobile banking boom opens up a wide range of new security threats for the industry,” it points out.
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