Standard Bank Group has appointed seasoned banking executive Andrew Mashanda to lead its Business and Commercial Banking (BCB) division across Africa and key offshore hubs, effective April 2025.
This major leadership move signals the Group’s intensified focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and commercial growth across the continent.
In his new role as Head of Business and Commercial Banking, Africa Regions and Offshore, Mashanda will oversee client strategies across 20 African markets as well as globally positioned offshore financial centres.
His appointment reflects a return to the Group’s core leadership after his successful tenure as Chief Executive of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited (SUHL), which ended in December 2023.
Mashanda replaces no one in this newly consolidated role but brings over two decades of proven, pan-African banking experience.
He has held key positions in Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya, and South Africa—making him one of Standard Bank’s most seasoned leaders.
His recent work within the Africa Regions portfolio sharpened his insights into cross-border financial ecosystems.
While at SUHL, Mashanda helped drive one of Uganda’s top-performing financial entities. The group’s profit after tax rose by 53%, from UGX 269 billion in 2021 to UGX 412 billion by 2023. Meanwhile, total assets ballooned to UGX 9.3 trillion, and customer deposits hit UGX 6.3 trillion.
Perhaps more tellingly, SUHL’s impact wasn’t just in numbers. Subsidiaries like FlyHub recorded their first revenues, while Stanbic Properties turned a profit with ongoing real estate ventures.
The Stanbic Business Incubator scaled up SME development, reinforcing the Group’s long-term commitment to inclusive growth.
The Business and Commercial Banking segment contributes 21% to the Group’s total revenue and an equal share to headline earnings. Offshore banking, led through the Standard Bank Offshore Group, adds a further 9% to headline earnings, largely from high-net-worth and institutional clients.
The Group’s SME and commercial portfolio spans transactional banking, lending, trade finance, asset and fleet management, card issuing, and foreign exchange. It also provides clients with tailored advisory and sustainability support through expert relationship managers on the ground.
Mashanda’s new mandate underscores a regional pivot: moving beyond isolated market wins to a harmonized, Africa-wide SME growth strategy.
His deep understanding of both startup ecosystems and institutional banking gives Standard Bank a rare edge—local insight with multinational muscle.
As competition heats up across Africa’s financial corridors, Standard Bank’s latest move doubles down on talent. And Andrew Mashanda might just be their ace.
