Africa’s best bank for transaction services, Societe Generale operates in 19 countries in Africa, with 4.3 million clients, including 175,000 corporate clients. Its global transaction and payment services team is led by Alexandre Maymat.
Societe Generale’s net banking income in Africa rose 20% to €1.8 billion last year and that’s partly thanks to its transaction services franchise, which benefits from its local banking presence in Africa as well as its international expertise and network, especially in areas such as structured trade finance.
In cash management, Societe Generale has rolled out a new web and mobile-based offer named MyBusiness in Africa. It has also strengthened its local currency clearing capabilities and offered compliance training for its correspondent banking clients. For small and medium-sized enterprises it is also developing its reverse factoring solutions on the continent.
Societe Generale’s cash management work extended from a sports and leisure retailer in Algeria, to telecoms in Cameroon, to supplier payments in the Moroccan automotive sector, pharmaceuticals in Côte d’Ivoire and sea freight in Congo. In trade finance, the projects ranged from hydroelectricity in Cameroon to Moroccan wind farms and solar energy in Madagascar, as well as imports of steel, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer and food in Algeria.
The bank has focused on launching sustainability-linked trade finance in Africa, targeting customers active in clean energy and assisting in the transition away from carbon intensive businesses. One groundbreaking example was a €1.5 billion sustainable import letter of credit for Senegalese water company Sen’Eau, supporting a sustainable water and wastewater management project and improving access to drinking water locally.
