Qatar National Bank (QNB) is to acquire a 12.5 per cent stake in Ecobank Transnational, a pan-African financial institution headquartered in Togo.

The acquisition builds on QNB’s existing presence in Africa, where it already has branches and subsidiaries in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, South Sudan, Sudan and Tunisia.

The deal will further cement the Qatari bank’s ties with the continent and help it to capitalise on the strengthening investment and trade flows between the Gulf and Africa.

Ecobank has a presence in 36 countries in Africa. As of June 2014, the bank had $23.4bn of assets and had generated $255m of profit before tax.

The acquisition follows the Gulf country’s national carrier, Qatar Airways’, announcement of non-stop flights to Cape Town on 2 September. The flights commence in November this year and further illustrate Qatar’s interest in the African continent.