ICT conference organiser Aitec Africa is hosting the first African banking technology conference on the continent, between 5 and 8 February, in Kenya.
The conference will emphasise the application of effective IT and telecommunication facilities in Africa's banking sector, says Sean Moroney, chairman of Aitec Africa.
There will be management briefings aimed at top managers in banks and financial institutions, as well as a series of technology briefings aimed at IT and system managers in the banking sector.
The event will update delegates on practices and latest applications, systems and technologies in the banking sector, according to the Aitec Web site.
There will also be an opportunity to create dialogue around using technology to cater for the un-banked majority of Africans, says Moroney. He says the majority of African financial institutions have failed to cater for the banking needs of the majority of Africans. "They have focused on the corporate and high-income end of the market."
The ideal customer profile for a conservative banker is a salaried upwardly mobile urbanite, which excludes over 90% of Africa's population, he says.
"The effective application of IT and telecommunication solutions is essential for developing a profitable balance in two sides of the banking market," says Moroney.
According to the International Monetary Fund, statistics show only 12.6% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa have a formal bank account. There are on average only 2.6 bank networks per 100 000 inhabitants and only 4.3 branch networks per 1 000 square kilometres in sub-Saharan Africa.
Bankers are slowly realising there is a huge untapped market in the bottom half of the income pyramid that needs low-cost banking services with minimal entry barriers, says Aitec.
Moroney says Grameen Bank, which uses microfinance and technology to create banking facilities for developing regions, has targeted the low-income pyramid successfully.
Nigerian banking institutions are making strong inroads towards creating banking facilities for the 122 million un-banked Nigerians, he adds.
The rapid roll-out of mobile phone services across Africa makes the medium a natural banking system for the continent, he adds.
Banking institutions need to build up strong relations with mobile telecommunication companies in order to build a strong banking platform that accommodates the un-banked, Moroney notes.
"Within a few years this may be the primary way that balance transfers are made in Africa and banking institutions that ignore this will do so at their peril."
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