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Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, has said there is increased investment, innovation, and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activities across Africa. The Johannesburg-headquartered bank made the statement today ahead of the upcoming TMT Finance Africa conference taking place in Lagos on September 20.   

“Investment and M&A in TMT continues to be especially active in Africa, with many companies across the continent considering strategic options, growth along diverse verticals, private debt and equity financing rounds, M&A, and public listings,” said Nina Triantis, Standard Bank’s Global Head of Telecoms, Media & Technology (TMT). “The debt markets continue to be supportive for the right companies in Africa, despite macro challenges in many African countries as well as global uncertainty, though the funding currency and medium will inevitably reflect these challenges.”

Standard Bank has partnered with TMT Finance, a London-based news and events company, to hold the inaugural TMT Finance Africa conference in Lagos, a city that is widely regarded as a hub for technology innovation and investment in Africa.

"As one of the leading TMT banks in Africa, we are excited to partner with TMT Finance for this event, which will bring the key telecom, media and technology companies, investors and advisers to Lagos in Nigeria,” said Triantis, who will speak on the TMT M&A Panel at the conference.

Current deals in Africa that are being reported by TMT Finance News include MTN’s Nigerian IPO; the sale of South Africa’s Neotel to Liquid Telecom; Millicom’s strategic review of its African assets; several fibre investment projects and fundraisings; and the potential listing/sale of Nigerian fin-tech firm, Interswitch.

The TMT Finance Africa conference will feature over 60 key C-level speakers from top companies, investors and advisers in Africa, including IHS Towers, Airtel, Standard Bank, Etisalat, MTN, Vodacom, Africa Internet Group, Ringier, iRoko, MainOne, iPNX, Spectranet, Fibersat, Citi, Convergence Partners, Standard Chartered PE, Carlyle, Africa Capital Alliance and Emerging Capital Partners.

The conference includes five leadership panel debates, five visionary keynote speeches, eight peer-to-peer roundtables and five networking sessions. Key session themes announced include: Telecom Leadership Africa: Broadband Infrastructure Investment; Digital Africa; Mobile Infrastructure Strategies; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity Africa Roundtable; Regulation and Policy; Financing Telecoms; Broadband Infrastructure; Investing in Mobile Data and Services; Mobile Banking, Fintech and M-Health; and Media and Convergence.