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Absa Bank Kenya Partners with Huawei to Build a New Digital Foundation for Branch Networks

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4 years ago

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AbsaBank

SD-WAN, as a next-generation technology and service, can help banks connect their branches and promote smart branch upgrades by constructing a powerful network

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, September 30, 2022/APO Group/ — 

“I see it as Lego blocks where the bottom layer is a strong technology foundation that gives us a platform to offer cutting-edge digital solutions to our customers. A strong, resilient network connects all the elements of the platform reliably.” – Moses Okundi, CIO of Absa Kenya

Who is Absa Bank Kenya?

Absa Bank Kenya is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and is one of Kenya’s leading financial institutions. Established in 1916, the bank has been a major player in Kenya’s financial landscape, engaged in personal and corporate banking, enterprise, credit cards and bancassurance.

In line with the bank’s purpose of bringing possibilities to life, the bank offers end-to-end financial solutions to retail, enterprise and corporate customers, and its regional and global footprint enables it to offer cutting-edge financial solutions to its clients. The bank is a leader in the credit card space. It has also been associated with a number of market firsts, such as the launch of the first ATM, Sharia-compliant banking and unsecured lending. Absa Bank Kenya is part of Absa Group, one of the largest financial services institutions on the continent with a presence in 12 African markets and a global scale with offices in London and New York. In Kenya, the Absa is present in 38 counties. It has 83 branches, 212 ATMs and a robust Internet and mobile banking platform.

Facing the ever-changing customer needs over the past few years, Absa Bank regards “digital enablement” as one of the company’s key strategies. While accelerating enterprise innovation, Absa works closely with partners to accelerate digital transformation, provide convenient and high-quality innovative services for employees and customers, and further enable the creation of a digital Africa.

Bank Outlets Rethink Their Positioning as Epidemics and Digital Technologies Hit the Financial Industry

In recent years, the epidemic and digital technologies have continuously impacted traditional commercial banks. The diversified requirements of bank users and physical isolation brought by COVID-19 epidemic have accelerated the digital transformation of commercial banks. As a result, “mobile first” has become a top topic in the industry. More and more banks regard “mobile money” as the essential way to digital transformation. As consumers embrace mobile banking, digital channels absorb many traditional banking transactions. As a result, customers ’footprint at bank outlets start to decline, leading to the closure of many outlets. However, bank outlets remain an important channel for serving customers. According to a McKinsey study on June 2020: “The focus of branch offices will evolve to help customers with their complex needs.” In another Deloitte study on the outlook for banking and capital markets for 2021, “nearly half of bank respondents said their institutions are considering real-time interactions with bank staff through intelligent ATMs…”

There is no doubt that bank outlets are still indispensable in banks’ digital transformation journey. However, banks are supposed to re-examine the position of offline outlets. In the future, branch offices will act as face-to-face (F2F) channels and customer experience centers where customers handle complex transactions, solve problems and receive financial advisory services. Smart bank branch networks will be the key for banks to achieve this goal and support commercial banks’ digital strategies.

The Traditional Branches Connection Solution Hinders the Digital Upgrade of Banks. Who is the “Mr. Right” for this Situation?

However, traditional bank branch network architectures are no longer sufficient to support the upgrade of digital branches or even hinder it.

First, the cost of traditional WAN networking solutions for branch connection is too high. With the promotion of digitalization, the demand for real-time data transmission of financial transactions, services, and files in bank branches, as well as the demand for digital office and high-quality video/voice within branches, has exploded. However, most banks traditionally rely on Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) to implement network connections between headquarters and branch sites, as well as between branch sites. However, the cost of construction of MPLS links is too high. Most banks hesitate in the face of such high cost. This becomes an obstacle to the establishment of intelligent branches of banks.

Traditional solutions also fall short of meeting the requirements for banking agility and flexibility. Previously, the construction, configuration, and go-live of a network at a new bank branch could take weeks or even months. Furthermore, many services that should have been available to customers if there was a strong network cannot be provided in some areas due to a lack of professional staff. As a result, traditional solutions become an impediment to the agility requirements of banking in the digital age.

Absa Bank Kenya’s intelligent cloud-based branch network will serve as a critical foundation for the financial giant’s digital transformation

Furthermore, low network O&M efficiency becomes a pain point for banks’ digital transformation. Banks are typical of these situations: the network structure is complex and invisible, branch locations are dispersed, and network diagnosis cannot be performed remotely. As a result, when network problems arise, IT Technicians must handle them. It could take several hours or even days, which would be disastrous for the banks’ operations and result in significant losses. As we can see, when the continuity of banking services is threatened by a network problem, traditional solutions fail.

Since the traditional branch connection solution is obsolete in the digital era, what is the best solution for digital branch construction? SD-WAN (software defined wide area network) technology is the answer. SD-WAN, as a next-generation technology and service, can help banks connect their branches and promote smart branch upgrades by constructing a powerful network based on cost-effectiveness, agility, flexibility, scalability, security, and compliance.

Absa Bank Kenya Partners with Huawei on SD-WAN Solution to Build a New Digital Foundation for Branch Networks

As business continues to expand, Absa Bank Kenya is actively seeking the most appropriate network infrastructure. “We strive to offer our customers a seamless digital experience. We want to enable them to bank and transact without any hitch and in a seamless manner at the convenience of whatever they could be,” said Moses Okundi, CIO of Absa Bank Kenya. To realize that, the bank needed to build a new infrastructure to improve the efficiency of various banking services, reduce O&M costs, and enhance user experience at branches.

To meet the digital transformation requirements, Huawei and Absa Bank Kenya’s technical team conducted in-depth discussions and surveys. Based on the bank’s actual requirements and digital strategy, as well as Huawei’s strong technical reserves and construction experience in enterprise network and financial digital transformation, Huawei provided Absa Bank Kenya with a customized NCE-Campus-based SD-WAN solution. In addition to common SD-WAN capabilities, this solution comes with some other unique advantages including:

  1. High-performance and congestion-free forwarding:
    • 3x high-performance in the industry, meeting SD-WAN development requirements in the next five years;
  2. Intelligent application routing ensures user experience for key applications:
    • Application-level intelligent traffic steering + 5G plus Fiber on-demand scheduling + A-FEC enable 20% video packet loss without frame freezing and artifacts.

3) Full-process automation:

  • Supporting multiple ZTP modes including emails, USB flash drive, etc. Network deployment at branches can be performed within minutes.
  • Branch, device, application and link status are all visualized.
  • Capable of centralized management and simplified O&M.

Finally, Absa Bank Kenya also selected Huawei as its digital transformation partner to build a cloud-based network between its headquarters and branches. This is prove that Absa Bank Kenya highly recognizes Huawei’s SD-WAN solution to meet its service expansion and digital innovation requirements during its digital upgrade.

Efficient, Reliable, Intelligent O&M, Accelerating Digital Transformation of Absa Bank Kenya.

What does an SD-WAN-based branch cloud network bring to Absa Kenya?

“We got to a point where we can manage traffic and distribute traffic evenly across various technology options or various connectivity options from various connectivity providers. The value of this is that it gives us robust resilience in managing that connectivity,” adds Okundi. Indeed, in the future, the branch network of Absa Bank Kenya will have intelligent traffic steering capability. It means the network can dynamically select MPLS links or internet links based on application quality and MPLS link quality, to ensure that key services use links with good quality. In addition, based on Huawei’s exclusive algorithm support, even if the quality of internet link is not so good, communication quality can still be ensured, which means that MPLS has a cost-effective alternative.

In addition, Huawei provides the iMaster NCE-Campus O&M platform for Absa Kenya, which can display the key O&M quality of devices, applications, and traffic. This platform can visualize application traffic of all branches, and therefore allows the IT team to monitor the dynamic data and adjust the bandwidth of each branch in a timely manner. This brings efficient and intelligent operations, as Okundi explains, ” For my tech team, we now have a very good level of visibility regarding  the usage of the connectivity partners we have engaged. We are able to see where the usage is and how the traffic is distributed. And in the worst-case scenario where manual intervention is required, our team can pinpoint the challenges, making their intervention very accurate and efficient.”

These are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the benefits provided by SD-WAN. Absa Bank Kenya’s intelligent cloud-based branch network will serve as a critical foundation for the financial giant’s digital transformation. As Okundi expounds: “I see it as a Lego blocks where the bottom layer is a strong technology foundation that gives us a platform to really offer cutting-edge digital solutions to our customers. And right at the bottom layer is a strong connectivity.” In the future, this powerful branch network will further promote the intelligent upgrade of Absa Bank and eventually help them evolve into intelligent customer experience centers.  This digital foundation will continue to support the business expansion and innovation of Absa Bank Kenya to provide the most advanced and the best financial services to Kenya’s customers and enterprises.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Huawei.

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Port Community Systems (PCS) as the crisis backbone: how trade disruption makes digital port infrastructure non-negotiable (By Alioune Ciss)

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11 hours ago

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May 20, 2026

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Port Community Systems

With PCS, ports can dynamically allocate resources, adjust workflows, and reprioritize cargo flows using real-time data and coordinated processes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 19, 2026/APO Group/ —By Alioune Ciss, Chief Executive Officer, Webb Fontaine (https://WebbFontaine.com).

When global trade flows normally, Port Community Systems (PCS) are often viewed as efficiency tools. They digitize paperwork, connect stakeholders, reduce delays, and improve visibility across port ecosystems. However, the true impact and strategic importance of PCS become most apparent when a crisis hits.

Whether caused by geopolitical conflict, canal restrictions, rerouted shipping lanes, cyber risk, labor disruption, or sudden regulatory shifts, modern supply chain shocks remind us that ports without strong digital coordination struggle to adapt, whereas ports with robust PCS infrastructure are better positioned to keep cargo moving. In today’s environment, PCS has become a critical infrastructure.

Disruption is not an exception anymore

Global maritime trade has entered a more volatile era where disruption is structural. Let’s review the recent events to understand the scale of impact:

  • Around 2,000 ships were reportedly stranded during the recent Strait of Hormuz (https://apo-opa.co/4dii0lb) crisis.
  • The Red Sea crisis (https://apo-opa.co/4dz5gFA) led to more than 190 attacks on vessels by late 2024, forcing widespread rerouting and increasing transit times by up to two weeks.
  • The Suez-linked corridor (https://apo-opa.co/4dz5gFA), which carries roughly 10–12% of global maritime trade, experienced sharp volume declines during the disruption.
  • Supply chains across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe faced cascading effects, including congestion, cost increases, and schedule instability.

At the same time, the global port industry itself is undergoing rapid transformation. According to the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), ports are accelerating digitalization and strengthening resilience capabilities in response to geopolitical and operational uncertainty. This is the new reality: routes shift, volumes spike, and conditions change faster than traditional systems can handle.

Why PCS matters most during a crisis

When vessel schedules collapse, or cargo volumes suddenly spike, physical infrastructure alone is not enough. Cranes, berths, gates and yards also need coordination. That is where PCS becomes the backbone of resilience.

A PCS is not just a digital tool; rather, it’s a shared operational layer. It connects shipping lines, terminals, customs, freight forwarders, transport operators, and authorities through a single data environment, enabling synchronized decision-making across the ecosystem.

Instead of exchanges through emails, phone calls, Excel files, or siloed systems that generate delays and errors, the PCS enables seamless and real-time coordination.

1. Real-time visibility across the ecosystem

When vessels are delayed or rerouted, fragmented communication becomes a liability.

PCS enables real-time visibility across:

  • vessel arrivals and berth planning
  • cargo status and documentation
  • customs readiness and inspections
  • gate operations and inland logistics

Instead of fragmented updates, stakeholders operate from a shared, trusted data environment.

When shipping lanes shift overnight, policies change, and when uncertainty increases, the strongest ports are the ones that are the most ‘connected’

In a crisis, the speed of information becomes the speed of recovery.

2. Faster decision-making under pressure

Sudden disruptions create immediate operational stress:

  • surges in transshipment volumes
  • yard congestion risks
  • inspection bottlenecks
  • inland transport delays

Without digital coordination, responses are reactive and slow.

With PCS, ports can dynamically allocate resources, adjust workflows, and reprioritize cargo flows using real-time data and coordinated processes.

3. Customs and border continuity

Cargo cannot move if border agencies cannot move.

According to joint guidance from the World Customs Organization (WCO) and International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), interoperability between Customs systems and PCS is essential for coordinated border management, risk control, and secure data exchange (https://apo-opa.co/3PLcs9P).

In crisis conditions, this becomes critical. Governments must introduce new controls, risk filters, or emergency procedures quickly, without disrupting trade flows. PCS enables this  balance.

4. Trust and transparency for the market

Importers, exporters, and carriers can tolerate disruption more than uncertainty. What they need is visibility.

PCS provides transparency across the supply chain, allowing stakeholders to track cargo status, anticipate delays, and plan accordingly. This transparency builds trust and reduces the systemic risk of panic-driven inefficiencies.

Operational resilience is the key

As we all know, the classic PCS discussions focus on key KPIs such as:

  • reduced turnaround time
  • fewer documents
  • lower administrative cost
  • faster truck processing

But today, the most important KPI is “readiness”: If a major trade corridor shifts tomorrow, can your port ecosystem adapt in real time?

To answer “Yes” to this question, a future-ready PCS should include:

  • real-time event management
  • integrated stakeholder communication
  • predictive congestion alerts
  • interoperability with customs and regulatory systems
  • scalable architecture for demand spikes

“For years, ‘efficiency’ was key when it comes to PCS. However, today, the key is ‘resilience’… When shipping lanes shift overnight, policies change, and when uncertainty increases, the strongest ports are the ones that are the most ‘connected’… Therefore, we should treat PCS as a crisis backbone of trade, not an IT efficiency initiative.
[Alioune Ciss, CEO, Webb Fontaine]

The Next Evolution: Intelligent PCS

PCS is now entering a new phase. Next-generation systems are evolving into data-driven platforms that support predictive analytics, AI-enabled decision-making, and proactive risk management (https://apo-opa.co/4eQ93Rg).

In other words, today, ports need systems that help orchestrate responses. Solutions such as Webb Ports (https://apo-opa.co/42F3gqq) from Webb Fontaine reflect this shift. By connecting all port stakeholders through a unified platform, anticipating congestion before it happens, simulating operational scenarios, and optimizing resource allocation dynamically, we enable faster coordination, better visibility and more agile responses when disruptions occur.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Webb Fontaine.

 

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Rand Refinery Joins African Mining Week (AMW) as Silver Sponsor Amid Regional Market Expansion Strategy

Published

11 hours ago

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May 20, 2026

By

Energy Capital

African Mining Week 2026 will showcase lucrative investment, partnership, and knowledge-exchange opportunities across Africa’s gold downstream sector, as Rand Refinery intensifies its investment and expansion strategy across the continent

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 19, 2026/APO Group/ –Amid a strategy to expand from a South Africa-focused refiner into a pan-African downstream leader, Rand Refinery has joined African Mining Week (AMW), an Influential African Mining Conference, scheduled for October 14-16, 2026 in Cape Town, as a silver sponsor.

Rand Refinery’s participation reflects a broader strategic alignment between the company’s expansion agenda and AMW’s focus on supporting and enabling local beneficiation and promoting artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) responsible sourcing frameworks.

 

In terms of volumes, the latest market information indicates that Africa produces 1000tpa of mined gold (more than any other continent), with large-scale mining (LSM) and ASM being almost evenly balanced (500tpa production each). On its current trajectory, African ASM volumes are expected to eclipse those of LSM.

 

The focus on ASM as a transformational imperative is valid, and Rand Refinery is an active participant in the precious metals supply chain, working alongside other upstream and downstream actors to ensure that the communities and countries with gold resources benefit in a sustainable manner.

 

Under the theme Mining the Future: Unearthing Africa’s Full Mineral Value Chain, AMW 2026 offers a critical interface between refiners, miners, regulators, and financial institutions, as African countries intensify efforts to capture more value from responsible mineral production.

 

A key pillar of Rand Refinery’s 2026 strategy is its expansion into high-growth gold markets beyond South Africa. In January 2026, the company partnered with Ghana’s Gold Coast Refinery (GCR) to support the Ghana Gold Board to locally refine artisanal and small-scale (ASM) gold and elevate responsible sourcing standards in West Africa. The partnership also positions Rand Refinery in a rapidly growing and historically fragmented supply segment: ASM operations, enabling the company to enhance traceability and strengthen compliance with global standards for ethical sourcing and anti-money laundering.

 

The partnership potentially allows the monetization of ASM supply streams in the formal gold ecosystem, complementing Rand Refinery’s established role in refining output from responsible large-scale producers. AMW 2026 represents a timely platform for the company to provide an update on its projects and contribution to Africa’s gold sector.

 

As demand for regional refining capacity expands, along with central bank buying programs, companies such as Rand Refinery will be crucial.

 

Central bank gold purchases are projected to average around 585 tons per quarter in 2026, underscoring sustained global demand. In Africa, gold now accounts for approximately 17% of total reserves – up from less than 10% in 2022–2023 – while physical holdings increased from 663 tons in 2022 to an estimated 738 tons in 2025.

 

This upward trajectory is driving demand for trusted refining and value addition services, positioning Rand Refinery as a key partner in the region. Against this backdrop, AMW provides a strategic platform for central banks and gold buyers to engage directly with one of the world’s largest integrated single-site precious metals refining and smelting complexes and strengthen regional beneficiation and national reserve strategies.

 

At AMW, Rand Refinery executives will participate in panel discussions and networking sessions, engaging stakeholders on partnership opportunities that support a more integrated, transparent and value-driven African gold ecosystem.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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Applications open for the 2027 Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Africa AI Startup Program

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11 hours ago

on

May 20, 2026

By

Meltwater

Join a global community of AI entrepreneurs

ACCRA, Ghana, May 19, 2026/APO Group/ –The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) (https://Meltwater.org), has opened applications for the second edition of the MEST AI Startup Program, a fully-funded, immersive experience designed to equip Africa’s most promising AI entrepreneurs with the technical, business, product, and leadership skills to build and scale globally competitive AI startups.

Over a seven-month training phase, the MEST AI Startup program will provide founders with hands-on instruction, technical mentorship, and business coaching from global experts to develop AI-powered solutions. The top startups will then advance to a four-month incubation period to refine products, sharpen go-to-market strategies, and secure market traction. At the end of incubation, startups have the opportunity to pitch for pre-seed investment of up to $100,000 and join the MEST Portfolio.

We are excited to support the next generation of African AI founders through training delivered by some of the most knowledgeable experts in the industry

The inaugural cohort brought together founders from seven African countries who are already building transformative AI solutions across industries. Building on the momentum of the first edition, the 2027 intake reflects MEST Africa’s continued commitment to ensuring African entrepreneurs play a defining role in the future of artificial intelligence.

According to Emily Fiagbedzi, AI Startup Program Director, the urgency of investing in African AI talent has never been greater.

“AI technology is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and meaningful participation in the global AI economy requires more than access to tools, it requires the ability to build,” she said. “This program is designed to help talented African founders develop solutions to real challenges while positioning them to compete globally. We are excited to support the next generation of African AI founders through training delivered by some of the most knowledgeable experts in the industry from organizations including OpenAI, Perplexity, Google, and Meltwater”

For the 2027 intake, the program is open to African founders based in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Kenya aged 21–35 with software development experience who want to start their own AI startup.

Apply now at https://apo-opa.co/3ReIQSI

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST Africa).

 

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