Absa Group plans to finish reshaping its business in the rest of Africa within the next two years, Moneyweb reported. The bank wants to earn more of its money outside its biggest markets.
South Africa, Kenya and Ghana made up more than 80% of Absa’s profit in the six months to June. South Africa’s third biggest bank wants to spread its earnings across more countries.
“We’re all a little bit impatient and we want to move,” said Charles Russon, Absa Group Executive for Africa Regions, in an interview.
Russon said some of the plans being explored are about growth. He said the bank is thinking about new markets, new products and new platforms.
Absa has started turning its representative office in Nigeria into a merchant bank. It is also opening a new representative office in Angola, a country rich in oil.
Russon spoke on the sidelines of the African Financial Industry Summit in Luanda, the capital of Angola. “We are busy applying for licenses,” he said. “From application to up and running, I would hope it is done in 12 to 18 months.”
A merchant banking licence in Nigeria would let Absa take deposits from companies. It would also allow the bank to offer loans, investment banking and project finance.
Investors have been drawn to Nigeria after reforms by President Bola Tinubu, according to the report. These reforms have helped boost growth in the country.
The move puts Absa up against bigger South African rivals Standard Bank Group and FirstRand. It will also compete with Nigerian lenders Access Holdings, Zenith Bank and First Bank of Nigeria.
The report said the push marks a shift for Absa. Under Chief Executive Officer Kenny Fihla, the bank has moved from restructuring to growing.
In Angola, President João Lourenço’s government has worked on reforms to modernise the economy and attract private money. Higher oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict have also raised the country’s export income.
“It’s evident that this is a market that feels like it is turning, is becoming more open, more transparent and I think in due course, much more investable,” Russon said. “You are going to see more business activity in Angola.”
In Uganda, Absa has finished joining up the wealth and retail banking unit it bought from Standard Chartered in 2025. In Tanzania, it is working on plans to combine its two banks into one.
“The East Africa region is a big growth region and Tanzania is a key part of it, a key market, a big market, and represents a big opportunity,” Russon said.
In Kenya, Absa plans to slowly raise its stake in the local bank to 85% by 2028. In June, it made a $238.7 million offer to buy another 16.5% of the Kenyan unit.
That offer only lifted its holding by 3.5 percentage points, to 72%. Russon said Absa still plans to raise its share over the next couple of years.
He said a bigger stake makes more sense for the bank. With a smaller share, Absa carries all of the risk but gets only about 70% of the profit, he said.
“We’ve gone through a lot of what I would call material foundational change that we can now start to build on for the next phase,” Russon said.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Moneyweb. Image: Moneyweb. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.