In a recent interview following his trip to Africa, JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, expressed optimism that Africa will play a much bigger role in global finance within the next 10 years.
Dimon’s Africa trip included visits to South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, where the bank had just been authorized to establish a regional representative office in Nairobi, Kenya in East Africa.
🇰🇪BANKING | JP Morgan Kenyan Authorization Does Not Include Taking On Banking Business #Kenya will serve as a marketing and liaison office for parent banks and affiliates, and not permitted to take on banking business.https://t.co/30LeTpGe2n @jpmorgan pic.twitter.com/lukDRXYkHD
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) October 16, 2024
“We’ve been doing business in Nigeria successfully since 1960. Kenya is new, though we’ve operated in South Africa for decades and in about 14 Sub-Saharan countries. We conduct company research, bring multinationals in, but being on the ground is different,” Dimon said at a private event hosted by Institute for International Finance (IIF).
“The earnings you see this quarter are from efforts made over the past decade. The products we’re building today, like those in Kenya, might not impact JP Morgan’s earnings next year, but ten years from now, we’ll have a much better African network.”
Dimon thinks more American companies should be enthusiastic about doing business in places like Africa and Latin America, helping businesses open there despite the risks and challenges that may be involved.
He revealed that his bank’s efforts to come to Africa have in the past been thwarted by the U.S. government.
“The government stopped me from doing it years ago, which got me quite upset because I think America should spend more time in Africa and Latin America and support businesses going there. It’s challenging, and there are risks.”
“The network we’re building there – it’s a gift to the next generation. We bank South African and Nigerian companies outside of their countries, conduct extensive research, and educate the world on these markets. This is only the beginning. Africa will be part of the next generation’s global business landscape.”
Dimon also expressed enthusiasm about local enterprises including fintech and healthcare, noting the likes M-PESA and M-KOPA.
“It’s uplifting to see the volume of tech, healthcare, and fintech in places like Nigeria, Kenya, and other parts of Africa. M-PESA, for example, emerged from this region.”
“There’s a company that makes a phone. It looks like an Apple phone; it’s probably not nearly as advanced, but it’s around a hundred dollars. I love that this technology is spreading, with roots in the diaspora, reaching places like America.”
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