Barclays Africa to shut down Nairobi office over redundancy

Barclays Africa Group will close its regional management office based in Nairobi shifting all support role to its South Africa premises.

The office will be closed in March.

The move is expected to see redeployment of over 30 staff based here but will not affect Barclays Bank Kenya employees.

Barclays Africa Group, which in 2013 revealed plans to raise its revenues from the continent and make it account for 20-25 per cent of its returns by 2016, said the move was meant to streamline its operations on the continent.

“Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL) can confirm that it will close down its regional operations and technology management office in Nairobi, Kenya by 31 March this year. Our Africa operations will continue to be supported by the pan-African regional centre based in South Africa,” a statement from Barclays Africa Group read.  

The office was established in 2010 to offer Barclays subsidiaries in Africa technical support but is said to have lost relevance in light of merging of operations with Absa to from Barclays Africa group.

Dispelling fears of a wind up from the continent whose economic engines of oil, copper and iron ore had decelerated, Barclays Africa Group said it will continue its investment strategy in the continent.

“We remain committed to continue growing our Kenyan business and offering our customers access to cutting edge financial solutions. We will continue investing in our infrastructure as well as the development of innovative products and systems to improve the way we reach and serve our customers across all African markets in which we operate,” the lender said Thursday.