Ibru calls for global support for African finance sector

10.03.2008

Chief Executive of Oceanic Bank International Plc, Dr. (Mrs.) Cecilia Ibru, has called for a global support for further deepening of the African financial sector.

Dr. (Mrs.) Ibru made the call while sharing her thought on the private sector perspectives on ways of developing sound financial intermediaries at a High-Level seminar on African Finance for the 21st Century in Tunisia .

The summit was organised by the International Monetary fund (IMF). To deepen the African financial sector she called for restoration of macroeconomic stability within which financial sector restructuring can proceed, strengthening of public finance and also the urgent need to reduce the level of inflation in the continent.

She also advocated a strong and dynamic private sector that would provide a strong base for the financial sector and lead to creating and maintaining a conducive regulatory, legal and judicial environment.

Noting that abundant opportunities existed for financial intermediaries in Africa despite its high poverty level, she identified the existence of huge informal markets adress the continent as a huge market to be exploited.