South Africa's Absa Group Opens First Gulf Office in Dubai to Tap $158bn UAE-Africa Trade Boom

Rather than operating as a conventional lending branch, Absa’s Dubai office will focus on arranging investment deals, advising clients and facilitating access to the bank’s wider corporate and investment banking capabilities across Africa.

The branch received a Category 4 licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in July, allowing it to arrange investment deals, advise on financial products and arrange and advise on credit. It will not lend from its own balance sheet.

Financial bridge

Clinton Clarke, senior executive officer of Absa Bank Limited’s DIFC branch, said infrastructure, energy, logistics and agriculture were attracting particular interest from Gulf investors, including sovereign wealth funds, asset managers and advisory firms.

For Gulf investors seeking exposure to African markets, the bank aims to provide access to local expertise and relationships across a continent where regulatory frameworks, commercial conditions and investment opportunities vary considerably between countries.

The expansion also reflects Dubai’s growing role as a financial bridge between the Gulf and Africa, connecting regional pools of capital with opportunities in infrastructure, natural resources, trade and consumer markets.

Absa joins South African banking rivals Investec, Standard Bank Group and Nedbank Group, which have also established a presence in Dubai.

The bank’s international expansion forms part of a broader strategy to diversify its business beyond its established markets. South Africa, Kenya and Ghana accounted for more than 80 per cent of Absa’s profit in the six months to June, according to Bloomberg.

The group has also been expanding elsewhere on the continent. In 2025, it acquired Standard Chartered’s wealth and retail banking business in Uganda and increased its stake in its Kenyan operation.

It is also exploring further opportunities in markets including Nigeria and Angola.

For Absa, Dubai offers proximity to investors and businesses looking to expand into Africa, while allowing the bank to draw on its established network across the continent rather than building a separate lending operation in the Gulf.

Cheryl Buss, chief executive of Absa International, said the decision to establish a Dubai presence reflected the growing importance of the Gulf in Africa’s trade and investment landscape.

The bank’s strategy centres on connecting international capital with African opportunities, with the Dubai office expected to develop as cross-border business increases.

Clarke acknowledged that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East presented risks, but said Dubai remained an attractive base from which to serve clients across the region.

The opening underscores the increasingly important relationship between Gulf capital and African markets, with Dubai seeking to strengthen its position as a hub for businesses looking to move money, goods and investment between the two regions.