Moza Banco: Disrupting the Mozambican banking sector
02
Moza Banco: The preferred bank of Mozambique
03
w w w. m o z a b a n c o . c o . m z
04
THE AFRICAN BANKING SECTOR IS A HOTBED OF INNOVATION. IN MOZAMBIQUE, MOZA BANCO IS DRIVING FINANCIAL INCLUSION WITH ITS CUTTING-EDGE DIGITAL STRATEGY frica has the secondfastest growing banking market in the world, according to a report by Kinsey, and it seems the story is no different in Mozambique. Championing services like mobile money solutions and agent banking, one of the country’s leading commercial banks,
K
Moza Banco, has strived to offer affordable, instant and reliable financial services to both urban neighbourhoods as well as rural villages, areas where no bank may have ever established a branch before. Looking forward, the 10-yearold bank has big plans for the future but none outshine its
“Most of the population don’t have bank accounts and so part of our strategy is to reach this demographic through alternative services from what is provided in this market. By offering services like agent banking, mobile banking and other financial facilities we aim to create a genuine relationship with our clients and make Moza Banco their preferred bank of choice.” The African banking sector is a hotbed of innovation and Moza Banco is no exception. Sansão Monjane, Head of Information Technology and Systems, believes the way in which Moza Banco adopts unique innovations and business approaches helps to distinguish it from its competitors. commitment to be the nation’s preferred
“We do our best to ensure we
bank of choice and to promote financial
are also at the cutting-edge of
inclusion.
technology and that our services
“Moza Banco isn’t focused on being the
are available to everyone at their
biggest bank in terms of size or its number
time of need,” Monjane explains.
of clients but is focused on establishing
“We take a different approach
its place as the country’s preferred bank,”
compared to the other banks in
explains Espírito Santo Monjane Jr.,
Mozambique and this helps to
Deputy Director of Information
differentiate our services
Technology and Systems.
from the others. w w w. m o z a b a n c o . c o . m z
05
Espírito Santo Monjane Jr. Deputy Director of Information Technology and Systems
06
Espírito Santo Monjane Jr. is 30-year-old professional who has worked in the banking industry for nearly eight years, five of which at Moza Banco. Having studied Computer Science, Monjane Jr. started his career working for a small startup, AfriSis Lda., as a programmer, developing projects for municipal departments and district governments thus following his passion for software development. His first experience in the banking industry came from BCI, in 2010, also as a programmer, where his main focus was developing user interfaces for their business process automation.
Sansão, Monjane Head of Information Technology and Systems Sansão Monjane is a young Head of IT in one of the most promising banks in Mozambique, with a team of 45 people that ensures the the maintenance and evolution of Moza banco IT systems, that includes infrastructure and all applications and IT related services. With a degree in Journalism, Monjane was always passionate about the IT world, which lead him to work in reputable companies in the market, such as Intercampus from Growth from Knowledge (GFK) Group as IT Manager. In 2012, Monjane joined the banking sector as an IT technician, and since then has rose through the ranks to his current position.
07
w w w. m o z a b a n c o . c o . m z
“That’s why we’ve been awarded
we are pushing it further through
as the most innovative Southern
more agents across the country.
African bank for the African Banker Magazine for two years in
in the market without having to
a row,” he adds. “In essence,
put a traditional branch at every
we always try to innovate to
site. We believe it is the most via-
make sure that we are
ble solution for growth going
enablers in the market.”
forward and it is also in line with
One way in which the Mozam-
the country’s strategy to include
bican bank is making waves in the
more people into the financial
sector is through its use of agent
system, which is a big issue in
banking, whereby a banking
Mozambique, and in Africa as a
agent – that is a retail or postal
whole.”
outlet – processes clients’ trans08
“It’s an alternative way to grow
“Like many other developing
actions on behalf of the bank.
countries, the infrastructure in
Launching the first banking
Mozambique is challenging,”
agent in Mozambique around three years ago, Monjane Jr.
adds Monjane. “We don’t have the means to
believes this cogent strategy has
get to remote places. If you have
been a roaring success.
a branch in a remote place, you
“Right now, we are pushing
have higher costs of transferring
aggressively towards agent bank-
money to those places, higher
ing, whereby we partner with
costs of maintenance for the
some commercial entities so that
branch, and higher costs for
we can provide banking services
the employees. That’s why
all over the country,” he explains.
with agent banking, you can
“We are going outside the urban areas to rural markets where people want to trade cash.
reach this slice of the population in a much easier way.” The financial landscape is
We were the first to make that
changing rapidly and perhaps
happen in Mozambique and now
one of the most notable trends is
09
the emergence of application
leading disruptors in the market,
programming interfaces, better
this is a trend which Moza Banco
known as APIs.
has been keen to tap into.
Located at the heart of open
“We are in an area of Mozam-
banking, APIs are open source
bique where a lot of people are
technologies which allow fintechs
introducing new technologies,
and third-party developers
new solutions, and enabling new
to build financial applications
areas of the market,” notes Mon-
on top of the bank’s existing
jane. “In IT, our strategy is to
IT infrastructure.
partner with those entities and
By ‘opening’ up the banking
make our banking services
sector, the introduction of APIs
available through alternative
allows third-party developers to
services and apps such as
create helpful services and tools
when you are paying your bus
that customers can utilise.
fare or shopping online.”
Partnering with some of the
To compete in Africa’s diverse w w w. m o z a b a n c o . c o . m z
“ BY OFFERING SERVICES LIKE AGENT BANKING, MOBILE BANKING AND OTHER FINANCIAL FACILITIES WE AIM TO CREATE A GENUINE RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR CLIENTS AND MAKE MOZA BANCO THEIR PREFERRED BANK OF CHOICE” — Espírito Santo Monjane Jr., Deputy Director of Information Technology and Systems
The best of ICT with a human touch Living in a mode that is “always-on”, and communicating within a society that never sleeps, Information and Communication Technologies are vital for every people and business activities. We imagine and deliver top-notch, scalable and sustainable solutions, with a human face and touch, at the heart of digital transformation. Axians is the VINCI Energies brand dedicated to ICT. We’re in 22 countries, with 9000 employees and revenues of €2 billion, in 2017.
11
financial market, mobile banking is a must. In the continent today, there are around 100mn active mobile money accounts, used by one in 10 African adults, according to
In 2014, ‘Global Banking and Finance Review’ named Moza Banco as the fastest-growing commercial bank operating in Mozambique in 2014.
data from McKinsey. “In Mozambique, around 5mn people have bank accounts yet 18mn people have a mobile phone. Therefore, mobile banking is a key way to get to non-banking clients in the country,” explains Monjane. By all accounts, it seems Moza Banco has an expansive portfolio on offer, and the firm shows no signs of slowing down its innovation. For instance, the bank recently introduced self-service kiosks so that people can pay their taxes or pay for government services with ease. w w w. m o z a b a n c o . c o . m z
But, despite this, the commercial bank is keen not to push technology on its customers. Instead, Monjane Jr. says the bank’s digital strategy is about meeting the capabilities of its clients to genuinely promote financial inclusion. “We’re trying to make the interface simple and intuitive so that it is easy to engage,” explains Monjane Jr. “We are taking what they know, something as simple as their feature phone, to provide services,” he continues. “As we reach people with more financial opportunities we can also offer applications for smartphones. “Technology is everywhere, but we are 12
adapting to the capabilities of our clients. We’re not forcing them to use a specific tech-
don’t have to worry about the
nology. We’re not saying, ‘everybody should
cost of producing paper money.
have a feature phone or the cheapest smart-
For the bank, it’s just great for us,
phone to use our services’. Instead, we are
because we have more clients,
saying, ‘we understand might not have this
more business, and we have
technology so we will use what you have so
more projects to offer the com-
that you can have a relationship with us’.”
munity. Then from a social
The underlying message behind Moza
perspective, it’s helping the econ-
Banco is one of financial inclusion. This is not
omy grow and it makes life easy
only important for the bank, it’s also vital for
for the everyday citizen.”
the country at large. “Financial inclusion can be viewed from two
A successful digital transformation needs a successful team
perspectives: it can be viewed as business for
to lead the way. At Moza Banco, it
Moza Banco, but it also has a huge social ben-
seems the firm’s young, highly
efit,” says Monjane.
skilled workforce is critical to its
“If we digitise the money in the country, we
success.
tions to the everyday problems we face inside and outside the bank. We are making a lot of effort to push the bank forward, to make ourselves better each day.” It’s an exciting time for Moza Banco. The firm has recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and from December to April the banking market grew around 5%. As such, Moza Banco remains optimistic about the future. “The banking sector is one of the most promising markets in Mozambique,” reflects Monjane. “I think that, like a lot of places in Africa, we have entered a new era of banking where we don’t have to follow traditional models that were set up years ago. “At Moza Banco, we have a
“In the next five to 10 years we expect Moza
shared belief that young people
Banco to be one of the top three banks in the
are critical in the banking sector,”
market for definite,” he adds. “We expect to
Monjane explains. “We invest a
be the preferred bank for our customers but,
lot in upskilling our staff and
most of all, we expect to contribute exponen-
sending people for training.
tially to the growth of
We invest a lot in enriching our
the country, because, doing banking in
personnel to keep them up
Mozambique isn’t just about business. It plays
to date with the latest
a huge social role.”
technology in the market. “In IT, in particular, we also understand that innovation is a key motivation. Aside from everyday work, we push people and push ourselves to think outside the box and come up with soluw w w. m o z a b a n c o . c o . m z
13
Rua dos Desportistas, Edifício JAT 5.3 n.º 921 Maputo, 1012 Mozambique, 1012 +258 21 34 20 20