About this Report
This report is compiled annually and reflects
salient operational data on Arise for the 2021
reporting period.
For questions regarding the report, please contact
Zeenat Parker on +27 21 300 2222 or via email at
zeenat.parker@ariseinvest.com
The Report
Forewords
Organisational
Overview
Highlights
Impact Report
Investing in Africa
Bank Case Studies
1. Forewords
The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects continued to be felt by Arise’s partner banks, but their resilience was notable. The organisation worked relentlessly to realise its vision of contributing to economic growth and prosperity in Sub-Saharan Africa, through increasing financial inclusion and employment, strengthening rural development and alleviating poverty.
Arise has, furthermore, augmented its three existing strategic pillars – Investment, Governance and Value Creation – with a fourth pillar, Collaborative Partnerships. This will allow the organisation to move one step closer to achieving long-term market returns that go beyond stakeholder expectations, whilst at the same time ensuring that it delivers on its mission of investing in Africa’s local prosperity.
2. Organisational Overview
The organisation’s investment portfolio consists of minority stakes in nine financial institutions based in eight countries. These range across the continent of Africa from East to West. Through Arise’s investments in Ecobank and Equity Bank, Arise has an additional presence in over 33 countries, by virtue of these banks’ subsidiaries across the continent.
3. Organisational Highlights
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, various strategic value-creation activities were successfully executed in 2021, encompassing risk and compliance, technology, cyber security, banking innovation, credit management, liquidity management, data management and environmental, social and governance (ESG) interventions. A new series of value-creation pillars, together with a new seven-pillar sustainability framework, were introduced and supported by a successful ESG-focused webinar. This activity meant that partnerships deepened to create significant inroads in banking product innovation, technology and ESG in particular.
4. Development Impact Report
2021 was a year of mixed economic performance, especially for developing markets. Although there was some recovery from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was tempered by continued uncertainty and economic disruption associated with new variants, as well as broader macroeconomic challenges.
5. Our Work – Investing in Africa
The reports of all partner banks, across the various developmental metrics mentioned previously, are included in detail in this section of the report. These results reflect the realisation of Arise’s vision of promoting financial inclusion, technical innovation, employment and gender equality, as well as strengthening rural development and alleviating poverty in the countries in which our partner banks are based.
6. Arise Partner Bank Case Studies
NMB made sustainable finance history when it issued the first social bond from an East African financial institution. The gender-empowering bond, which was heavily oversubscribed, raised USD 30 million against a target of USD 10 million. This Tanzanian instrument has since become the first-ever social bond to list on a Sub-Saharan African bond exchange.
In Zambia, Zanaco has embarked on a three-year Plant a Million Trees initiative that will raise awareness of Zambia’s pressing deforestation issue and meet important ESG targets.