By George Ozalla
More than 40 countries are expected to participate in the 2026 African Banking Compliance Forum (ACF2026), organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Gaborone, Botswana, from November 16 to 18.
The three-day event, which will bring together bankers, compliance specialists, financial regulators and fintech executives from across the world, is being organised in partnership with the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC).
The forum will hold at the Gaborone International Convention Centre, with discussions expected to focus on regulatory challenges affecting banking operations, cross-border transactions and trade integration in Africa.
The event is themed, “Better Compliance, Better Trade: Leveraging Compliance to Advance African Regulations that Promote Intra-African Economic and Trade Integration.”
The central objective is to address regulatory fragmentation, which has become a major obstacle to the smooth movement of capital, goods and services between African countries.
Afreximbank has announced a distinguished lineup of speakers, including the Governor of the Bank of Botswana, Lesego Caster Moseki; Dr Patrick Ndzana Olomo of the African Union Commission; Luis Koberg, founder of Klearium Group; and Shane Ridel of Elucidate.
Other participants and experts are expected from Wave Mobile Money, the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA), CBZ Holdings, NMB Bank, Continental Reinsurance, Dow Jones and Standard Chartered.
Afreximbank’s Director of Compliance, Idrissa Diop, said the differences in legal systems, regulatory supervision and levels of digital development among African countries had created significant challenges for financial institutions operating across national boundaries.
He explained that the continent did not necessarily require identical regulatory frameworks in every country but needed systems that could work together, reduce operational difficulties and still respect the regulatory independence of individual countries.
According to Diop, the absence of compatibility among different national regulatory systems creates unnecessary friction for banks and businesses involved in cross-border transactions.
He maintained that improving interoperability would help financial institutions operate more efficiently while preserving the authority of national regulators.
The Director-General of BITC, Keletsositse Olebile, also stressed the importance of strong and predictable compliance systems, noting that they strengthen investor confidence and provide a favourable environment for commercial activities.
The opening session will examine the relationship between banking compliance and trade development, particularly whether stronger compliance mechanisms can directly contribute to improved commercial activities.
Subsequent panel discussions will address anti-money laundering measures, combating the financing of terrorism, international sanctions, cybersecurity, consumer protection and the growing application of artificial intelligence in financial services.
One of the major issues expected to attract attention is the declining access of several African banks to correspondent banking services.
Correspondent banking enables financial institutions in different countries to provide payment, settlement and other banking services to one another. It is particularly important for international trade, remittances and cross-border financial transactions.
The declining availability of such relationships has created difficulties for some African banks and businesses seeking to conduct international transactions.
Luis Koberg, founder of Klearium Group, identified limited visibility across the entire payment chain as one of the fundamental challenges contributing to the problem.
He argued that some of the explanations offered for restricting correspondent banking relationships failed to address the need for greater transparency in international payment processes.
Koberg stressed that improved visibility would enable financial institutions to understand transactions more clearly, assess potential risks and manage them with greater confidence.
Another major area of discussion will be the contribution of financial technology companies to financial inclusion and the delivery of banking services to underserved populations.
Sophie Barre of Wave Mobile Money Group said fintech companies were changing the traditional approach to financial inclusion through the use of advanced technology and risk-based customer onboarding.
She explained that combining technological innovation with appropriate customer verification and risk assessment could make financial services more affordable and reliable while ensuring compliance with applicable regulations.
The forum will also examine how financial institutions can respond to the increasing demands created by artificial intelligence, automation and differences in regulatory requirements across jurisdictions.
These developments have placed additional pressure on banks and other financial institutions to strengthen their compliance systems without creating unnecessary barriers to financial transactions and commercial activities.
ACF2026 is expected to provide an avenue for financial regulators, banking executives and technology specialists to explore practical ways of translating common regulatory principles into stronger cooperation among African countries.
