16 July 2021
Award-winning Absa Bank (Mauritius) Limited stands out as a particularly well-suited partner to unlock value for investors across the continent.
Sunil Ramgobin, Director of Corporate and International Banking at Absa Mauritius, underlines the benefits of some of Mauritius’ bilateral agreements. “The African Continental Free Trade Area offers new growth opportunities for companies based in and trading via Mauritius. On the Asian market, the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement plays a bridging role for trade and investment channels between Africa and Asia. Added to that, the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement, the first trade agreement to be signed by India with an African country, gives Mauritius preferential market access into India for a range of products. These agreements testify to Mauritius’ potential to become a trade hub, linking the African and Asian continents.”
The country’s strengths and strategic location, coupled with Absa Mauritius’ experience as part of a group with 150 years of African heritage, echo the bank’s solid reputation in accompanying large corporates into African markets. As a pioneer of International Banking on the island, Absa Mauritius is uniquely positioned to advise or partner with international corporates, connecting them with emerging opportunities in Africa. Through the cooperation agreement between Absa and Société Générale (SocGen), the bank benefits from a broad presence across 27 African countries and global expertise that drives connectivity across key channels in UK/Europe, US and China, into and within Africa.
Driven by Africanacity, a philosophy depicting a uniquely African ability to get things done, and set to reshape the banking and economic landscape, Absa Mauritius brings several innovative solutions to fill the need for customer-centric banking services. The launch of its Custody Service, for instance, allows the bank to provide coverage in 80 securities markets through a strategic alliance with SocGen. Digitalisation is another, concurring with the growing trend resulting from the global lockdown.
The heightened awareness around the fast-changing landscape has accelerated the digital transformation journey in collaboration with fintechs and start-ups. Absa Mauritius has chosen to explore emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) as they have the potential to revolutionise the experience for individual customers as well as for corporates.
In 2020, the bank introduced Abby (a first on the local market), an AI-powered self-service facility in all its branches. Equipped with face recognition, speech and voice operating commands, Abby provides customers with a digital experience while keeping a personalised and human touch during the interaction.
The bank also spearheaded the first host-to-host and SWIFT Integrated Solutions for a large local corporate. Absa Mauritius continues to invest extensively in technological transformation to create seamless experiences for its clients including the award-winning Trade Management Online platform, Digital Account Opening platform and the recent Absa Access Online, a single-sign on platform that gives access to instant, intuitive and intelligent ways of managing finances.
Absa Mauritius aims to create value-added experiences by focusing on decluttered operations built around a digitally-led banking structure.
For Sunil Ramgobin, the bank has reached key milestones on its journey to becoming an entrepreneurial and digitally-led organisation. “Clients expect us to be a partner with insights and knowledge that will help them grow. At Absa Mauritius, we cultivate deep relationships with our clients through a life-stage approach, bringing them disruptive technologies and tailor-made solutions that address their unique challenges.”
Recent accolades for Absa Bank (Mauritius) Limited
- 2021 Best Bank in Mauritius - Global Finance
- 2021 Best Investment Bank in Mauritius - Global Finance
- 2020 Best Cash Management Bank in Mauritius - The Asian Banker
