STANBIC BANK ZIMBABWE
STANBIC BANK ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe’s Best Bank Keeps the
Customer Right at the Centre PRODUCTION: William Denstone
Standard Bank commenced operations on the African continent in South Africa, in 1862, taking the famous brand and all its expertise over to Zimbabwe in 1992. The recently decorated institution has just enjoyed a roaring success of a tobacco season, and, like many across the group, harnessed the power of digitisation to ensure that both existing and previously-unbanked customers alike were financially empowered through even the worst of the pandemic. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE
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The Standard Bank Group is the runaway leader banking and financial services group in Africa, and in Zimbabwe, Stanbic Bank has branches in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Chitungwiza, Kwekwe, Mutare, Chegutu, Ngezi, Beitbridge, Hwange and Victoria Falls. Guided and inspired by the group’s vision of remaining the leading financial services organisation in, for and across Africa, delivering exceptional client experiences and superior value, Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe, “is committed to making a real difference to financial services in Zimbabwe by providing banking services and products that enhance customer experience,” the institution states.
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COMPETITIVE EDGE Stanbic Bank CEO Solomon Nyanhongo opens with some key background to the business’s standing in the country. “Stanbic in Zimbabwe is renowned for being one of the domestically important banks in the country,” he says, “classified as a systemically important institution given the number of customers who bank with us and our command of around 20% of the total market share. “We are well represented in the country and have branches in around 16 locations, which affords us coverage of pretty much the whole territory,” Nyanhongo adds. “Anywhere there is business activity of significance occurring, you will find us there ready to serve. “When it comes to foreign
currency business, we also have the largest share of trades in the market - close to 40% of the entirety.” Clearly an uncommonly dominant position, we ask the CEO to condense some of the competitive advantage which has propelled Stanbic Bank to the lofty heights it enjoys today.
// STANBIC IN ZIMBABWE IS RENOWNED FOR BEING AMONG THE DOMESTICALLY IMPORTANT BANKS IN THE COUNTRY //
STANBIC BANK ZIMBABWE
“First and foremost, we have very specialised units, or centres of excellence, staffed by subject matter experts across all the various key sectors in which we operate,” he offers. “As such, we have a desk which caters for all of the mines and other business comprising our mining interest, and the same for energy, and these operate according to global standards. “This makes our solutions to the various foreign currency conundrums
in the country consistently practical, specialised and fit for purpose; simply put, they deliver.” Stanbic Bank’s receipt of the prestigious Best Bank in Zimbabwe award at the 2020 iteration of the African Banking Awards only cements its position at the forefront of the banking sector. As adjudged by EMEA Finance, it follows an almost identical accolade collected last year, from leading financial magazine
The Banker, continual recognition testament to its firm status as customers’ financial partner of choice. TOP IN TOBACCO Tobacco production in Zimbabwe is a huge industry, this year forecast to grow by nearly 9% to reach 200 million kilograms due primarily to abundant rainfall. The lucrative crop is also a major source of foreign exchange for the nation, with
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Runhare House, 107 Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, P.O Box CY331, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe Head Office: +263 24279811-8 Bulawayo: (029) 226 6161 or 288 6688, Gweru: (054) 222 4191 or 223 0617, Mutare: (020) 264 606 or 267 666, Masvingo: (039) 226 3302 or 226 2491, Call Center: (024) 270 0950
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE
sales reaching $782 million in 2020 with 2021 set to eclipse even this figure. It is a vital component of the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe and contributes some 12% of the GDP. It is a major aspect of Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe’s business and brand, Nyanhongo clarifies. “We are a very big player in the tobacco industry and we command close to 50% of the market share, in terms of the lines of credit which we mobilise for the buying and selling of tobacco in the local market. “It is also a key foreign currency, both for Zimbabwe and for us as a bank. Agriculture is one of our real fortes in the country.” Stanbic Bank is by far the biggest of the financial investment players in Zimbabwe’s
thriving tobacco industry, whose value is pointed out by Stanbic Bank’s Executive Director for Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Betty Murambadoro. “USD$405m offshore and USD$20m onshore tobacco facilities are currently being enjoyed by the main tobacco merchants and primary producers linked to the major tobacco merchants and their value chains,” she delineates. “Tobacco production is a key component of the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe and contributes 12% of the GDP.” To fully capitalise in March this year, with the selling season looming, Stanbic Bank set up nine remote branches, or implants, at tobacco auction floors throughout the
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// WE COMMAND CLOSE TO 50% OF THE MARKET SHARE OF THE ZIMBABWEAN TOBACCO MARKET // country to enable ease of access to funds for tobacco farmers. “The implants are seasonal and are set to go a long way in improving operational efficiencies as the country grapples with the relentless Covid-19 which has led to the decentralisation of tobacco auction floors,” said Murambadoro, as this solution ensured the continued service of tobacco farmers’ banking needs countrywide. While it might be difficult to exactly replicate the success that Stanbic Bank has encountered in the tobacco industry, the business does have its sights set on novel sectors and product types, Nyanhongo explains: “There is certainly scope for growing our agricultural side and spreading our reach to different crops,” he explains. “We do have a strategic interest in grains, like wheat and maize, where we can expand into these areas and partner with growers to enhance their credit strength and ability to connect with larger corporates. “Agriculture therefore presents an abundance of opportunity, but likewise energy is an area of real interest for us, and renewables in particular. To date we have mainly f inanced hydro electricity generation for the national power producer. More and more in the country, however, the government has been encouraging the participation of private players in initiatives like solar power plants, which we can finance, and we see ourselves participating in this, too, on a large scale.”
TCS BANCS™ CLOUD TO TRANSFORM STANDARD BANK CLAIMS PROCESS A cloud-first approach, a faster claims processing engine and high configurability, the TCS BaNCS™ Cloud for Insurance will help Standard Bank Insurance improve operational efficiency and streamline claims management. The powerful partnership between Standard Bank and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was taken to new heights in May when Africa’s leading banking group selected TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance to drive digital transformation within its insurance business. The partnership will see TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance streamline processes, grouping more than 60 products, currently divided over four claims administration platforms, to achieve quicker and more precise processing. By also integrating 16 different downstream applications including the enterprise GL system, payment gateway, CRM, business intelligence solutions and other peripheral systems, this new tech platform reasserts Standard Bank’s position as a continental digital leader. According to TCS BaNCS, the most important part of insurance is the payment of claims very quickly, simply and seamlessly. This is why TCS Financial Solutions signed a new engagement surrounding TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance offered on a software as a service (SaaS) model for insurance claims which will transform the way Standard Bank handles insurance. It is run through Amazon Web Services Cloud as the cloud is the most important technical game changer going forward – most large businesses and banks are adopting it rapidly. Standard Bank is at the forefront of adopting the cloud and TCS Financial Solutions is thrilled that the bank has chosen TCS BaNCS Cloud. TCS BaNCS Cloud is available in South Africa and across Africa and the company invites anyone that is looking at it to get in touch and investigate how it can solve problems. By taking a Cloud First approach, TCS Financial Solutions and Standard Bank are putting clients at the forefront of thinking, designing processes that improve outcomes and service quality. Currently, TCS BaNCS is deployed across more than 450 installations around the world, making the largest collection of components, enterprise and consumer apps for the financial industry available through the cloud. “Customer satisfaction and loyalty are of utmost importance to us and with TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance’s SaaSbased solution, we expect to vastly improve policy holder claims experiences, deliver superior performance in a secure environment and benefit from the scale that a highly configurable solution offers,” says Dr Nolwandle Mqoqi, Head of Insurance, Standard Bank South Africa. The two organisations have been collaborating for more than 20 years and TCS Financial Solutions views Standard Bank as the premier example of a financial services business adopting a truly digital strategy. For TCS Financial Solutions, SaaS as a strategy is number one. The company has a cloud-first, SaaS-first strategy and clients are coming with phenomenal demand for TCS BaNCS™ Cloud. South Africa has an excellent adoption rate with cloud and TCS Financial Solutions is proving its abilities moving such a large application to a new platform. “TCS cherishes the over 20-year relationship with the Standard Bank Group and our long-standing commitment to the South African financial services industry. We are pleased to be selected as the strategic partner to the company for this engagement. TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance will help Standard Bank’s short-term insurance enhance customer experience, reduce operational risk, improve claims efficiencies, and take advantage of emerging opportunities by seamlessly collaborating with an extended innovation ecosystem of insurtechs. This claims transformation sets up Standard Bank well for its next leg of thought leadership and client-centred delivery in the South African market,” says R. Vivekanand, Head, TCS Financial Solutions (TCS BaNCS). Standard Bank and TCS have enjoyed a robust and enduring partnership that began with TCS servicing the Bank’s capital markets business in the late 90s. Over the years, TCS has successfully developed multiple technologies, across a variety of Standard Bank businesses. As technology providers and transformational agents, TCS Financial Solutions believes that value unlocked through digital transformations is now significant and beneficial to clients in a Covid world. TCS BaNCS Cloud prepares organisations for connectivity to anything, from anywhere, at any time. To stay relevant and grow, financial service businesses must invest in digital. TCS is the perfect partner for this exciting journey.
www.tcs.com/banking-financial-services www.tcs.com/bancs
Served and
Ready to Go
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The pandemic has set banks and financial institutions on evolutionary paths of exploring new, resilient business models and collaborative, connected ecosystems. The Cloud First approach has become a game changer for how financial institutions will operate in the future. After years of focusing on the cloud for its technological value as a faster, asset light and more elastic alternative, they are now looking at it as the always-on backbone of innovation. TCS BaNCS Cloud delivered on a SaaS model is a comprehensive suite of pre-configured solutions for financial institutions of all sizes and types, with regulatory and data residency compliance built in. Resting on a strong digital core and designed on a microservices and API-based architecture, it can help institutions leverage the power of Open and enriched ecosystems, with curated partners from the TCS BaNCS Marketplace. Be it updating systems faster or rebuilding transaction processing applications into leaner platforms, or executing on a consistent data delivery strategy, or applying cognitive tools like Optix for insightful decision making, TCS BaNCS Cloud is the solution that can drive your institution’s purposedriven journey into the future. More than 100 MN transactions run on TCS BaNCS Cloud daily, and as evidenced by the 200+ customers who run their applications on the solution, it has steadfastly delivered on the promise of trust, accessibility, security, resilience, scalability, and compliance.
Write to us at tcs.bancs@tcs.com
Visit our website: www.tcs.com/bancs
INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE
// WE HAVE INVESTED HEAVILY TO STABILISE OUR IT PLATFORMS, AND TO ENHANCE OUR ONLINE BANKING OPTIONS AND PLATFORMS //
CEO SOLOMON NYANHONGO
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DIGITAL PROVES CRITICAL It was a move mirrored across the Standard Bank group, but Stanbic Bank’s digital push at the height of the pandemic was arguably the most comprehensive and considered. “It went hand-in-hand with our efforts to enable our staff to work from home,” Nyanhongo says, “as we also sought to enable our customers to transact with us remotely. “We have come up with products like contactless cards, helping to make payments hygienic and fast, and have invested heavily to stabilise our IT platforms, and to enhance our online banking options and platforms for our customers. Everything is possible at home, 24-7, across the vast majority of our service offering.” Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe also opted to shift the cost of accessing a range of its digital banking platforms from the customer to the bank. Zerorating its website, Stanbic app, online banking and the SlydePay app, it was a move designed to allow customers access to key services as conveniently as possible, while encouraging uptake of digital banking platforms. “Customer centricity is of utmost importance to our business and in keeping with this key pillar, we have seen it fit to ensure that our customers are able to access essential services on our digital banking platforms at no data costs,” commented Stanbic Bank Head of Personal and Business Banking, Patson Mahatchi.
STANBIC BANK ZIMBABWE
Recognising that, even today, digital is not universal, Nyanhongo also describes how the needs of those unable, or indeed unwilling, to embrace its dawn are met. “Our ATMs have been operational and functioning like never before,” he adds, “strategically distributed across the country for customers not wishing to transact with electronic money. We have kept some physical branches open, as well, and our business continuation plan is alive and well with back-up teams to get any branches that do have to quarantine back up and running within 48 hours. “Our aim is to ensure that no customer is left out,” he summates, “and that they are all made to feel important and receive continuous service, whether or not they are able
// OUR CUSTOMERS ARE RIGHT AT THE CENTRE OF WHAT WE DO - WE ARE PLANNING AND GROWING TOGETHER WITH THEM // to make the jump to digital services.” The customer first approach is one that Nyanhongo initiates right from the top of Stanbic Bank, and feeds through the entire organisation. It might just prove to be its key differentiator as it further distances itself from the completion in the country. “Our customers are right at the centre of what we do,” he wraps up. “We are planning and growing together with them. “Moving forward, our priority is to deliver to our customers best in class service, which is unparalleled in the rest of the market. We
will continue to invest heavily in understanding our clients, in technology and in an environment conducive to retaining the best talent as we strive to remain the best bank for all our stakeholders. “We want to be more than a bank to our customers,” Nyanhongo emphasises. “We want to offer a one-step solution, 360-degree service provision catering for every financial need.”
WWW.STANBICBANK.CO.ZW
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September 2021
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