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INTRASOFT INTERNATIONAL : AFRICA
Intrasoft International
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Intrasoft International ¡ East Africa
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HARNESSING AFRICA’S ICT STRENGTH An Exclusive with Intrasoft International’s East Africa Regional CEO, Wambui Mbesa By: Nicholas Paul Griffin
Aspire Africa · Jan/Feb 2017
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Intrasoft International runs operational branches, subsidiaries and offices in 13 different countries.
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eading European IT solutions and services group Intrasoft International has a strong international presence, offering innovative and added-value solutions of the highest quality to a wide range of international and national public and private organisations. Established in 1996, and with headquarters in Luxembourg, Intrasoft International now runs operational branches, subsidiaries and offices in 13 countries.
Wambui Mbesa East Africa CEO
International Presence Intrasoft International employs over 1,500 highly-skilled professionals, from over 20 different nationalities, speaking more than 18 languages. Over 500 organisations in over 70 countries have chosen to use the company’s services to meet their business needs. These organisations include European Union institutions and agencies, national government organisations, public agencies, financial institutions, telecommunication organisations and private enterprises. Intrasoft International is a subsidiary of Intracom Holdings, one of the largest multinational technology groups in South-East Europe, with nearly 40 years of experience, 2,300 employees, offices in 19 countries and projects in 70 countries. On the back of early success in the banking and public sector in East Africa in late 2015, the company went forward with the establishment of Intrasoft International East Africa (IIEA), capitalising on an emerging market enjoying rapid growth. Through its subsidiary in Kenya, Intrasoft International aims to better serve the needs of local customers, as well as focusing on developing new business opportunities, 4
Intrasoft International · East Africa
software development competence and a new services portfolio.
Product Line As a company providing services across different industries, Intrasoft International has a range of products that benefit a wide range of customers and companies within the banking and risk and compliance sectors. In banking, the PROFITS® Integrated Core Banking System is a modern system covering all core and near-core functions of retail and corporate banking, combined into a customercentric and product-oriented approach. The system’s business-rules-based architecture allows the logic of all components to be easily defined, reducing time to market. Its design aids fast adaptations and expansions, and its portability allows for operation on a variety of modern technological platforms. Fully focused upon the specific products and services provided by SACCOs and MFIs, the PROFITS® for Saving & Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) and MFIs is a lighter version of the original PROFITS® system.
Intrasoft International employs over 1,500 highly-skilled professionals, from over 20 different nationalities, speaking more than 18 languages.
The system is comprised of specific components offering functionality that covers the full spectrum across a business’ operating model, organisation and all applicable departments, and includes robust business model and reporting capabilities.
technologies and provides high-availability (built-in load balancing and fail over) with minimal configuration efforts.
The system assists such institutions to overcome the challenges faced in regulation compliance and is therefore a banking solution capable of supporting future transformations to a full commercial or micro finance bank. Covering retail and corporate banking, the i-PROFITS® Internet Banking System is integrated with PROFITS® and can be interfaced online, in real-time with any other core banking system as a stand-alone solution or part of Intrasoft International’s OmniChannelling Platform. The technical architecture of the i-PROFITS® system is based upon cutting edge
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This architecture also provides for vertical and horizontal scalability, ensuring that the bank can not only accommodate future transactions’ high volumes, but can also easily introduce additional functionality. In addition to the PROFITS® system, Intrasoft International offers two other key solutions within the risk and compliance and legal industries. These solutions are known as ESKORT and NOMOS. ESKORT is an integrated compliance solution covering all aspects of compliance work, from pre-audit case selection to appeals and debt recovery, providing comprehensive support for risk analysis, case management and control/ investigation.
Intrasoft International East Africa Team
Aspire Africa · Jan/Feb 2017
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Intrasoft International’s aim is to join
Many African governments & businesses
Africa’s development and help accelerate economic growth.
are improving their operations, embracing delivery of high-quality services.
Finally, Legal Information Database NOMOS is primarily addressed to the legal, technical and financial circles of Greece, the broader public sector, private companies, legal entities of public and private law, freelancers and the general public.
Africa Despite being the world’s second largest continent, Africa still faces significant social challenges such as disease, famine, unmet demand for transparency and accountability in the public sector, low level of resource exploitation, poverty, unemployment and war. In spite of these challenges, the continent has potential that far outweighs its risk. Some of the fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. It is this potential that Intrasoft International chose to focus on when establishing a subsidiary in Africa. It is precisely these challenges that have led to the great thrust in the continent towards home grown innovative solutions aimed at solving the unique challenges Africa faces. Today, Africa is known as a continent for ICT innovation. Intrasoft International’s aim is to join Africa’s ICT strength and provide solutions to current and future challenges.
This successful delivery of ICT solutions is made possible by the company’s highly skilled human resource base, which has collectively hundreds of man-years of experience and domain knowledge in several key areas. This success is demonstrated in the over 500 EU institutions, national governments, Telcos, banks and private sector enterprises that Intrasoft International has already served. ICT innovation offers a great opportunity for building Africa’s private and public sectors. Many African governments and businesses are improving their operations, embracing delivery of high-quality services that citizens and customers are increasingly demanding, and they are leveraging ICT to do so. Intrasoft International’s market relevance and innovative product base is best seen within its PROFITS® scheme. In this era of unprecedented digital change, the financial institutions it serves need agile solutions to enable them to adapt quickly to such change. The range of changes in the industry can be overwhelming, stemming from new trends such as mobile commerce, cloud and big data, security and an ever-changing regulatory environment.
While pursuing its corporate goals, the company aspires to contribute to Africa’s development and help accelerate economic growth.
PROFITS® for SACCOs anticipates and has incorporated futuristic functionality, such as Inter-SACCO borrowing, which enables SACCOs to lend to each other to meet their daily financial needs in a similar way to overnight lending performed by commercial banks.
This is done by solving current and future challenges in both the public and private sectors through ICT innovations and solutions. Intrasoft International’s strength lies in its track-record in undertaking and delivering complex, mission-critical ICT projects.
IIEA aims at deploying PROFITS® banking solutions to the many financial institutions in Africa including banks, SACCOs and micro finance institutions, many of which are still using outdated technologies or have no ICT systems or automated processes.
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Intrasoft International · East Africa
The strategy in Africa is to engage local companies in order to promote direct job creation, as well as empowering and developing a local ecosystem.
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Launch of the Mwalimu Commercial Bank System, Tanzania
One Year On Intrasoft International has just celebrated its first year of physical presence in Africa, embracing a general philosophy centred around working with local partners, the transfer of technical know-how and the promotion of best practice. In September 2015, the company established its new subsidiary in East Africa with the official registration of Intrasoft International East Africa, with an official launch following in July 2016. With its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, IIEA oversees business in various countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zambia and Botswana. The company’s focus in Africa is on public sector solutions as well as banking solutions.
The company is looking at building efficiencies through solutions to both the public and private sectors. Its vision is to join Africa’s ICT strength and provide solutions that will accelerate economic growth across the continent. The strategy in Africa is to engage local companies in order to promote direct job creation, as well as empowering and developing a local ecosystem that can undertake support and maintenance services for Intrasoft International’s customers. For government projects, the company strives to build capacity and transfers knowledge to empower civil servants to own its systems. Once empowered, they can serve their customers in the manner citizens have increasingly come to demand of their governments. Aspire Africa · Jan/Feb 2017
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NSSF Kenya: Intrasoft International delivered the Pension Administration System for the state owned Social Security Fund Across all its projects, Intrasoft International promotes excellence through application and adoption of best practices. The company has developed significant expertise in successfully implementing complex solutions globally and participating in global forums. For NSSF in Kenya, Intrasoft International delivered the Pension Administration System, based on its Social Security and Health Insurance Application Suite. This led to improved operational transparency, traceability and efficiency in service provision. This has produced a reduction of suspended and unallocated payments, and monthly 8
Intrasoft International ¡ East Africa
benefits payments handled have increased by almost 35%, with turnaround time for benefits payments also improving without an increase in personnel. There has also been increased efficiency in registrations and the introduction of e-collaboration services which did not exist before. Currently, over 4,000 employers are web-certified and interacting electronically with NSSF. Interoperability with other organisations were included (online communication via web services) which did not exist before, including online integration with KRA, the Huduma Organisation, banks and the e-citizen portal.
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IIEA is playing a critical role in the Huduma project in Kenya in partnership with a local organisation. Huduma is a project designed to transform public service delivery by the Kenyan government by utilising service centres in all 47 Kenyan counties. On top of this goal, Huduma also aims to re-engineer, automate, integrate and roll out digital services in the country. IIEA’s role in this process is to provide project management and quality assurance expertise. Intrasoft International has deployed its flagship banking system, PROFITS®, in the East African market in a major bank in Kenya, in Centenary Rural Development Bank in Uganda (under deployment) and Mwalimu Commercial Bank in Tanzania. As a comprehensive suite of solutions that includes core banking, internet, mobile and agency banking, loans automation, business intelligence and MIS, the system promises to be a game changer in the region’s banking sector. Other important banking projects include the Zambia Electronic Clearing House, where Intrasoft International is implementing the national payments switch to provide an infrastructure that will promote interoperability of all retail bank-led and nonbank-led payment systems. In the public sector, the company already has a string of high-profile contract awards and successful implementations, including the National Social Security Fund in Kenya as well as at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). With the KRA Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence project, Intrasoft International is a strategic subcontractor for the implementation of the risk analysis module of the ESKORT Compliance Application Suite, a proprietary solution for the company. 10 Intrasoft International · East Africa
Vision for the Future Africa’s growth is on an upward trajectory. Technology continues to be a major contributor to this growth through rapid adoption. Intrasoft International is committed to playing a leading role through its proven ICT capabilities, ensuring Africa moves forward into its great future. Intrasoft International continues to employ and train young, talented people at its centres of excellence across the world, and is committed to growing the regional business, increasing the international exposure of its team and mentoring young people in leadership in ICT. Intrasoft International believes its African customers deserve to experience efficiencies in their businesses through technology and innovation, and have subsequently committed to providing solutions that will help achieve this. The company’s mantra is “creating value together”, and is achieved by being relevant and working together with its customers in Africa to understand their unique environments and provide world class ICT services to help enhance their effectiveness as organisations. In order to remain relevant in Africa, Intrasoft International needs to adopt an innovative approach and to think outside of the box. The ability to build credible local capacity to serve the African market will be critical to its success. ASPIRE
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