Africas banking sector is undergoing a structural shift as longstanding multinational banks exit the continent, creating space for local lenders to expand their footprint and influence.
The transition can be traced to early 2016 when Barclays , in Africa since 1916, announced its gradual exit from the continent. The move was completed in 2022 with the sale of its last 7.4 stake to South Africas Absa Group, enabling it to gain presence in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, in a deal then valued at 2.1 billion.
Atlas Mara, another British group formerly led by Bob Diamond, an old Barclays hand, followed suit in 2019, leaving Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.
