Standard Chartered Bank Plc has reiterated its commitment to maintaining a market and thought leadership role to support the aspirations of government, regulators, peer banks, clients and other stakeholders to position Ghana as the digital hub of the sub-region.

Mansah Nettey, CEO of the Bank, who made the reaffirmation at the recently concluded 2021 Standard Chartered Digital Banking, Innovation and Fintech Festival, held in Accra said, “As we celebrate 125 years of Standard Chartered’s presence in Ghana, we do not only seek to take stock of the success and experiences of our operations that have supported Ghana’s economic and financial evolution. We want to showcase our bank’s leadership in innovation and digital platforms.”

The event was a two-day festival held to mark the Bank’s 125th Anniversary celebration and its commitment to up the ante on its vision to continue leading the banking industry with purpose.

Under the theme: “Shaping the next phase of Ghana’s Financial Technology Landscape for the 21st Century,” the event brought together stakeholders within the FinTech space to discuss pertinent issues around how to adopt, leverage and scale digitisation, innovation, and technology within the financial sector.

“Being the first bank that opened its counters to the Ghanaian public, we have maintained a market and thought leadership role that has supported the aspirations of government, our regulators, peer banks, clients and other stakeholders,” she added.

Madam Nettey said, “As a financial institution, we believe that our success is contingent on the success of our community and clients. This is the reason we have remained focused on driving long-term sustainable development and enhancing the well-being of our communities and our people by putting our capital where it is most needed to drive commerce and prosperity with minimal impact to our clients.”

“We continue to promote accessible banking at scale and connect clients to opportunities that promote access to finance and economic inclusion. We also aim to support women and small business gain equitable access to financial solutions,” she stressed.

On his part, Dr Emmanuel Kumah, Board Chairman, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC, reiterated his belief that the stakeholder engagements held at the two-day Fintech festival defined the scale of growth and collaboration Ghana should expect and invest in.

“I believe that the FinTech festival will create partnerships and collaborations that will bring significant solutions and generate new lines of fintech products and services that will not only serve Ghana, but our continent and the entire world,” he added.

The Standard Chartered Digital Banking, Innovation and Fintech festival was hosted in collaboration with Bank of Ghana and SC Ventures, making true the claim that Standard Chartered continues to utilise technology as an enabler, backed by effective partnerships with Bank of Ghana, the Ghana interbank payments and settlement system (GHIPSS), other policy makers, Telcos and FinTechs to drive financial inclusion and a cash-lite society.