Africa has the largest number of refugees of any continent – in Uganda, many of them are economically active, while others are excluded from accessing basic banking products. Euromoney finds out how integrating refugees into the formal financial system could benefit the country.

Commercial International Bank has opened a representative office in Ethiopia, implementing its programme of expansion into east Africa.

Launched in January, Fuliza has already attracted more than four million customers, and Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom, hopes the product will reach all 21 million M-Pesa customers in Kenya.

A recent criminal trial in London has revealed how banking negligence enabled a multi-million dollar fraud at the now defunct oil company Afren. Read on for a guide to Olivier Holmey’s feature in the February issue of Euromoney examining the errors made and what the financial sector can learn from them.

A string of due-diligence shortcomings enabled the international fraud that sapped investor confidence in once-booming London-listed oil firm Afren – and has also now led to jail time for its two top executives. What lessons can the banking industry learn from the failings laid bare in the court proceedings?

Telcos allowed to provide limited services, helping financial inclusion in the country.

The two Nigerian banks’ merger would form the country’s largest financial institution, but it is somewhat overshadowed by Diamond’s troubled legacy loans to the oil and energy sectors.

Planned changes to the country’s fintech licensing regime could halt the growth of a burgeoning market.

Cipla Quality Chemicals’ share sale is good news for Uganda’s capital markets, but is still something of a rarity. Investors have little choice when it comes to picking stocks: government borrowing remains high and puts the focus on bonds, while family-owned businesses tend to be wary of opening up to outside investment.

With global liquidity conditions tightening, local currency bond markets have a more important role to play in financing African governments and companies. While Ghana and Nigeria are leading the way, other markets are still in the early stages. Poor transparency and liquidity, and a multiplicity of legal regimes are holding back foreign investment.

As the central bank awards its first new banking licences in 20 years, the big four will find it harder to justify the fees that have underpinned their profitability. The newcomers promise technology will facilitate cheaper banking services and tackle inequality.

Following in the footsteps of Egypt and South Africa, Nigeria has signed up for a currency swap deal with China, but are swaps all they are cracked up to be?

Even though the banking sector remains off-limits, foreign investment in other state-owned enterprises will support infrastructure development.

The new presidents of Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe could do better, but banks and investors will have plenty of due diligence to do when deciding whether or not and how to commit more resources to these countries.

With the election of Cyril Ramaphosa, there is a new sense of optimism in the country. Bankers talk of Ramaphoria and hail the first signs of a long-overdue improvement in the economy.

South Africa’s new deputy finance minister took a tough stance on corruption under former president Jacob Zuma – now Mondli Gungubele talks to Euromoney about the embarrassing Zuma years and the Ramaphosa government’s plans to turn the economy around.

Now Mugabe is gone, one of the poorest nations in southern Africa can see the first signs of interest from international investors, but a chaotic currency regime, heavily indebted economy and looming elections are turning initial euphoria into cautious optimism.

Oil prices and currency controls created opportunities for some banks, which reported bumper gains from FX and fixed income last year, but no one is expecting a repeat of that. Can lending keep them sweet?

While most countries have adopted e-wallets and mobile banking as a result of technological innovation and evolution, Zimbabwe was forced into it because of a financial crisis.

The volume of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) FX business done electronically is growing, with the large South African banks in the vanguard.

Despite a new prime minister and growing economic pressures, Ethiopia seems unlikely to seize the opportunity to open up its financial sector and lure more foreign investment.

South Africa’s reputation for insalubrious dealings under Zuma makes it fertile ground for maverick short-sellers.

Blue finance is set to take off this year, buoyed by growing appetite for investments in sustainable fisheries, conservation and alternative plastics. It’s further evidence of the influence of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

A former social worker from middle England has suddenly become the biggest influencer in South Africa’s stock market. He called Steinhoff’s collapse correctly. In making banking sector star performer Capitec his next target, has Viceroy Research’s Fraser Perring got it right again? Or, as the bank’s leadership insist, is he a one-hit wonder?

Central bank governor Patrick Njoroge talks to Euromoney about the challenges of a turbulent year in Kenya and about his strategy to tackle them.

Arunma Oteh has helped develop new financial tools to address the world’s most pressing issues – in an exclusive interview, she talks about the difference the capital markets can make and her previous career fighting corruption in Nigeria.

As Denny Kalyalya’s first term as Zambia’s central bank governor draws to a close, he reflects on the need for IMF support, the currency and debt crisis that engulfed the country two years ago and his efforts to deliver a recovery for the long term.

Following Mozambique's default, is it time to reassess which other African Eurobond issuers might follow suit – and what options are open to issuers – given deteriorating finances and rising global interest rates?

Barclays’ exit from the continent shows how banks based in developed countries are either unable or unwilling to support growth in emerging markets. But for institutions with a focus on Africa, the departure of such international rivals makes banking in the region look even more attractive.

Barclays’ ownership has hobbled some of its biggest businesses in Africa. Now Maria Ramos, chief executive of the Johannesburg-listed successor company that makes up the bulk of Barclays Africa, tells Euromoney Africa about the challenges she faces in extricating Absa and the rest of the network from the London-based group.