Edward George 'Banks are in danger of becoming utilities'

As the market for fintech grows in Africa, Ecobank Transnational Inc., a pan-African banking conglomerate headquartered in Togo, has built a digital strategy that includes acquisitions, partnerships and in-house IT development. Having a large network of branches is no longer considered sustainable in the long run, as banking moves online. The bank is instead acting as an incubator of African fintech start-ups that come up with ingenious solutions to different problems. “Banks are in danger of becoming utilities”, says Edward George, Ecobank’s UK Country Head and Head of Group Research. “With utilities, you start providing services over a certain network and you’re kind of stuck there; they have no growth potential, and people don’t want to invest in them.” He spoke with LSE Business Review managing editor Helena Vieira during the Mobile Money and Financial Development Conference at LSE.