Interview of Charles Russon

1.      As Group Executive for Africa Regions, what is your leadership focus at this moment, and why was Mauritius an important stop on your journey?

• Stepping into this role, my immediate priority has been to get close to our markets. Absa operates across 12 African countries, and leadership at this level cannot be done remotely—you need to understand local realities, meet teams on the ground and see opportunity and constraint first‑hand.
• This comes at a time when we’ve reshaped how the Group operates. We now run three truly pan‑African businesses—Corporate and Investment Banking; Personal and Private Banking; and Business Banking. Countries are no longer managing isolated portfolios; they are responsible for delivering across all three businesses, which makes alignment between country strategy and business priorities essential.
  
• My role is to ensure that alignment works in practice—to understand where teams need support, where complexity gets in the way, and where we can better enable growth. In that context, Mauritius stands out. There is a strong, capable team here, and a real opportunity to leverage what is working locally across the wider continent.

2.      Competing and Winning in a Fragmented African Banking Landscape: How do you assess Absa’s position in an increasingly competitive African banking environment?

• Our geographic footprint is one of our greatest strategic advantages. Since 2019, profitability across our Africa region has tripled, and its contribution to Group earnings has grown from roughly a quarter to almost a third of total performance. That tells us we have momentum, scale and relevance.
• We are seeing positive signals across East and West Africa, even as global and regional headwinds persist. Importantly, we are not short‑term players. We focus on sustainable, client‑led growth rather than chasing yield. Africa is complex and uneven, but if you invest patiently, back clients properly and stay disciplined, the opportunity is significant.
• Our ambition is clear: to be a top‑three bank in every market we operate in. That ambition shapes how we deploy capital, talent and capability across the continent.

3.      Growth Ambitions: Organic Scale, Inorganic Opportunity and Strategic Hubs: Where do you see the most compelling growth opportunities for Absa across Africa?

• Growth starts with clients. Market share is earned through organic expansion—deepening relationships, serving priority sectors and aligning to client needs. Where it makes strategic sense, we also consider inorganic opportunities such as acquisitions or consolidation to accelerate scale.
• Mauriius plays a role in this context, including any opportunities that may arise in Francophone Africa. Mauritius offers language capability, depth of expertise and a trusted jurisdiction from which to compete. It brings together talent, credibility and connectivity in a way few locations can.
  
• More broadly, growth for us is not about presence for its own sake; it’s about building strong, sustainable client franchises that allow us to support African economies as they develop.

4.      Mauritius as a Global Gateway: Capital Flows, Trust and Competitive Advantage: As global capital reshapes its priorities, how do you see the role of Mauritius evolving on the world stage?

• Global capital is far more selective than it was even a decade ago. Today, investors are prioritising certainty—governance, regulatory credibility, resilience and the ability to operate across borders with confidence. In that environment, Mauritius stands out as a highly credible and trusted platform for doing business into Africa.
• Its strength lies in robust governance, regulatory maturity and the rule of law. But advantage alone is not enough anymore. Countries and institutions must “show up” with speed, clarity and confidence. Capital is mobile, and those who move decisively will attract it.
• For Absa, Mauritius has a unique role to play—building on a presence that spans more than a century. That history gives us deep institutional knowledge, trusted relationships and a strong understanding of Mauritius as a conduit into the continent. It is a critical hub for corporate and investment banking, but also increasingly important in wealth and private banking, as well as in digital capability that can be scaled across Africa.

5.      How do sustainability and emerging technologies like AI shape the future of banking in Africa—and what role can Mauritius play in enabling that transformation?

• Sustainability and technology are no longer parallel conversations—they are fundamentally twined. If Africa is to compete for capital, scale growth and build resilience, it must address both simultaneously. One without the other simply does not work.
• At the most basic level, energy underpins everything. As economies digitise and data usage accelerates, the demand for reliable, sustainable energy grows exponentially. Without it, innovation stalls. Africa has extraordinary potential across renewable energy, agriculture and natural resources, but capital will only flow where projects are credible, bankable and aligned to long‑term sustainability outcomes.
• This is where technology—and particularly AI—becomes a critical force multiplier. Deployed responsibly, AI has the potential to transform productivity, strengthen decision‑making and increase efficiency across supply chains, financial services and infrastructure. It can enable better credit assessments, improve risk management, enhance customer experience and unlock entirely new business models. Importantly, AI is not simply about automation—it is about augmentation, creating new skills, new roles and new ways of solving complex challenges.
• Mauritius is uniquely positioned at the intersection of these shifts. It offers a stable, trusted environment in which sustainable finance and digital capability can be developed, tested and scaled. The regulatory maturity, governance standards and depth of talent here allow institutions to innovate responsibly—something that global capital increasingly demands.
• For Absa, this convergence of sustainability and technology is strategic. Across the continent, we are already deeply involved in financing energy, infrastructure, agriculture and food security—sectors that are essential to inclusive growth.
• Ultimately, the future of banking in Africa will not be defined by balance sheets alone. It will be defined by how effectively institutions help economies transition—towards sustainable energy systems, food security, digital inclusion and productivity‑led growth—while deploying technology in a way that is responsible, ethical and human‑centred.
• Mauritius has the foundations to be a catalyst for that future. Our role, as Absa, is to connect capital, capability and clients—ensuring that sustainability and technology together drive real economic impact across the continent.

6.      The Future of Banking over the Next Decade: Looking ahead, how do changing client expectations shape your vision for Absa Mauritius over the next five to ten years?

• We are living through a period of profound global realignment. Capital today is far more selective than it was a decade ago. It is not just looking for opportunity—it is looking for certainty: regulatory credibility, governance, resilience and the ability to operate across borders with confidence. In that context, Mauritius is exceptionally well positioned to play a more influential role on the global stage, particularly as a gateway into Africa.
• Against this backdrop, capital is not sitting still. In periods of uncertainty, investors and institutions are actively reassessing where they place their money and whom they trust to safeguard it. That search for stability, predictability and security is precisely where jurisdictions like Mauritius can play a critical role.
• Mauritius’s strength lies in trust. Its governance standards, regulatory maturity, rule of law and financial sophistication give it credibility at a time when investors are reassessing where they base themselves and how they manage risk. However, advantage alone is no longer enough. In today’s fast‑moving environment, countries—and institutions—must actively “show up” with speed, clarity and confidence. Capital is mobile, and those who move decisively will capture flows that others miss.
• For Absa, Mauritius has the potential to play a significantly bigger role in our future—building on a relationship that spans more than a century. Our long‑standing presence has given us deep institutional knowledge, trusted partnerships and a strong understanding of Mauritius as a conduit into the continent. Today, it is not only a critical hub for corporate and investment banking into Africa; it is also uniquely positioned in wealth and private banking, as well as in digital innovation. These are areas where Mauritius already demonstrates depth of expertise, and where we see a clear opportunity to scale capabilities beyond its borders and across Absa’s wider African network.
• Looking ahead five to ten years, our ambition for Absa Mauritius is very clear. We do not simply want to participate—we want to lead. That means being a dominant, trusted and highly relevant financial partner in an ecosystem that is becoming more competitive and less traditional by the day. Competition now comes from a broader set of players, including technology firms, fintechs and insurers, alongside traditional financial institutions.
  
• In that environment, differentiation will not come from balance sheet alone. It will come from trust, service excellence, technology and our ability to deliver value beyond traditional financial products. Winning will be defined by relevance—how well we understand our clients, how effectively we support their ambitions, and how seamlessly we connect them to opportunities across Africa and beyond.
• A key part of that ambition is people. The skills and capabilities within Absa Mauritius are increasingly recognised across the Group, with Mauritian talent contributing well beyond the local market. At the same time, our clients benefit from seamless access to Absa’s pan‑African expertise, allowing us to match local understanding with continental depth.
• Mauritius has the right foundations, credibility and capability to become a central platform in Africa’s next phase of growth. Our role, as Absa, is to invest with intent, move with pace and ensure that we help both our clients—and Mauritius itself—position confidently in a rapidly changing world.

Ravin Dajee – Managing Director, Absa Mauritius

Charles’ visit is a strong signal of Group confidence in Mauritius. Since the transition from Barclays to Absa, our balance sheet and performance have grown consistently. Trust, confidence, and relevance are the currency of our success, and we are well positioned to support clients expanding into the continent.