Absa, Endiro market Ugandan coffee in Davos

Uganda's goal of producing 20 million bags of coffee by 2020 received a shot in the arm at the 48th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) that was held in Davos, Switzerland between January 22 to 25.

Absa partnered with Endiro Coffee, one of the premier coffee brands in Uganda and a client of the bank to sample participants to Ugandan coffee.

Absa set up a pop-up venue in Davos at which a selection of entrepreneurs from key African markets such as Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Ghana were invited to showcase some of the continent's finest products.

"The presence of these businesses at this forum tells a rich story of Africa's potential as an economic hub to the rest of the world. Our clients are the core of our business and we are glad to have partnered with them to showcase their products to the business community that is gathered here," said Maria Ramos, Absa Chief Executive.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda's exports consist of mainly agricultural commodities with coffee accounting for 20% of total export earnings which stood at $2.8b in 2017/18.

Adopt South African twin peaks regulation

Ramos also unveiled the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index in partnership with the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF at a breakfast meeting held in Davos attended by world leaders, policy makers and the business community.

Ramos noted that the index is a premier indicator of the attractiveness of Africa's financial markets, for use by governments, investors and asset managers around the world.

Uganda's is ranked 10th best, beating Rwanda and Tanzania. However, South Africa came top out of 20 economies in the survey in part due to its twin peak strategy of regulation over its financial sector.

Initially implemented in Australian, one peak consists of a "system stability" regulator who is charged solely with creating and enforcing prudential regulations to prevent a financial crisis. A second peak is responsible for deterring misconduct and protecting consumers of financial products and services.

Ramos noted that this year's index included three additional countries - Angola, Cameroon and Senegal - and pays special attention to policies for enhancing market growth, including financial inclusion and investor education.

She noted that South Africa's ‘twin peaks' strategy for improving financial regulation and Mozambique's ‘financial sector development strategy' stood out among the frameworks introduced over the past year.

"The development of well regulated, deep and liquid financial markets is a key priority that should be at the top of Africa's development agenda. The Index facilitates a meaningful debate about the maturity and accessibility of Africa's financial markets," Ramos said.