Session 1: Responding to the pandemic: Measuring the effectiveness of financial sector policy measures

Amid limited fiscal space, many African authorities have taken emergency policy measures to help provide immediate support, such as lowering interest rates to provide extra liquidity or encouraging banks to provide temporary moratoriums on loan payments. While these measures were helpful in mitigating the immediate impact of the crisis and boosting the effectiveness of stimulus efforts, looking ahead, authorities will need to strike a careful balance between the need to support growth over the near term and maintaining financial stability.

The session aims to assess the outcomes of these financial sector responses, discuss where policy attention is required to balance the trade-offs between economic growth and financial stability, and the role of financial sector development in supporting a post-COVID recovery and beyond.

Speakers include:

Elsie Addo Awadzi, Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana

Judith Tyson, Research fellow, Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

Isabelle Lessedjina, SVP, TCX fund

Michael Atingi-Ego, Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda

Session 2: Responding to banking regulation and supervision challenges during the global pandemic

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and regulatory authorities have taken prompt relief measures in many jurisdictions to alleviate the impact on the banking system. Regulatory measures endorsed at the level of the Basel Committee on Banking supervision (BCBS) are expected to preserve the overall soundness of the banking systems. However, there are growing concerns as to whether these measures intrinsically reduce the risks banks are exposed to as the results of the crisis. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold there is a likelihood of a sharp increase in non-performing loans which could threaten the stability of African banking systems.

The session will discuss regulatory changes and potential solutions that aim to address the increase of distressed assets and reduce the strain on the banking industry.

Speakers include:

Amarendra Mohan, International Consultant, Formerly with the FSI/BSI

Lyness Phiri-Mambo, Assistant Director, Examinations & Surveillance Bank Supervision Department, Bank of Zambia

Maxwell Okugo, Director Banking Supervision Department, Central Bank of Nigeria 

Rana Badawi, Sub-Governor Banking Regulations, Central Bank of Egypt                                                                                                             

Session 3: Overcoming Trade Finance barriers for African SMEs

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic is having unprecedent adverse consequences on global economy and trade. Disruptions in global supply chains exposed the vulnerabilities of trade finance, especially those related to international trade. Historically, the dearth of trade finance has been persistent in several African countries. However, improving access to information necessary for conducting Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti – Money Laundering (AML) and Counter the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) checks could help in reducing compliance costs and facilitating trade finance transactions. Furthermore, new forms of finance building on supply chain links such as factoring have the potential of revolutionizing trade finance for SME in Africa.

The session will focus on initiatives to facilitate trade finance in Africa as well as expand on the enabling role of technology and opportunities arising from the advent of the AfCFTA.

Speakers include:

Alexandre Malaket, President, OPUS Advisory Services International Inc.

Eric Intong Monchu, Senior Manager Trade Finance, Afreximbank

Lanre Olininiyi, Co-Founder, Orbitt

Lodewyk Meyer, Partner, Backer & McKenzie 

Session 4: Challenges and opportunities to mobilizing institutional investor assets in the COVID-19 context

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need to give greater priority to increasing the level of longer-term domestic savings in African economies and channelling these savings to more productive investments. An important step towards deepening domestic capital markets is developing the “buy-side”, including by encouraging greater participation by institutional investors. This further highlights the need to accelerate reforms to develop a local institutional investor base that can perform its dual mandate of financing sustainable, long-term economic growth, and managing member’s longer-term savings.

This session will examine the related challenges & opportunities to deepen local institutional investors’ participation in domestic markets and the role African institutional investors can play in the post-COVID recovery.

Speakers include:

David Uduanu, CEO, Sigma Pensions Limited Nigeria

Jacqueline Irving, Senior Sector Economist, IFC

Nzomo Mutuku, Chair Africa Pension Supervisors Forum and CEO Kenyan Retirement Benefits Authority

Session 5: Promoting a gender sensitive economic recovery post-COVID

The COVID-19 crisis has revealed and substantially widened pre-existing gender inequalities and vulnerabilities in Africa. Female-owned or led firms, that have accounted for more than their share of the finance gap traditionally faced by SMEs in Africa before the pandemic, have been disproportionally impacted by the crisis and the ensuing measures. Women are more exposed to be driven out of business because of the type of sectors they are involved in (i.e. wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, event management etc.). A sustainable COVID-19 recovery will not happen without a strong gender emphasis in all dimensions.

The session will examine innovative gender-related finance and policy solutions in order to harness the economic power of women in driving the recovery from the pandemic. It will also expand on the role of digital financial services in implementing these solutions.

Speakers include:

Abimbola Agbejule, Head, Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility, Wema Bank

Nuru Mugambi, Public Affairs Director, Kenya Banker's Association

Moa Westman, Gender Specialist, EIB

Mohamed Kalif, Head of Financial Inclusion and Intermediation, AfDB