Trailblazer - Kennedy G. Bungane, African Bank CEO

The Power of Banking To Transform Lives

By Koketso Mamabolo

We have got to be communal in order for all of us to have success,” says Kennedy G. Bungane, the CEO of African Bank. “We believe that our community’s success will be our success and that our humanity and ambitions are interconnected.” He’s been in the banking industry since he was 17 and has built up a wealth of experience that makes him the perfect person to carry on the legacy of the Group’s founding Chairperson, Dr Sam Motsuenyane.

“Banking is a unique industry. You don't have gold, silver, platinum, or manganese underneath the ground that brings you resources. We don't sell gadgets, nor do we sell products in the sense of what you manufacture, or what you farm,” he explains. Here he reflects on his journey, the bank’s focus on transformation and how the industry has had to rethink the fundamentals of banking itself.

How Did You Get To This Point In Your Career? Please Share a Little Bit About Your Story With Us?

I started as Group CEO of African Bank in April 2021, having had an extensive set of roles in banking, previously as the CEO of Barclays Africa in 30 countries across the continent, and also as the CEO of Standard Bank’s Corporate and Investment Banking. But the African Bank journey for me has been like no other.

When I joined, I was privileged to be received by Dr Sam Motsuenyane, Founding Chairman of the Group. In conversation with him, it became clear to me that one of the important things for us to do was to reclaim the mandate of African Bank. The original vision that the founders of this bank had in mind, when they gathered in Soweto over five decades ago, was of a bank for the people, by the people, serving the people. And so one of the major milestones for us was discovering the inspiring story that is African Bank.

It’s a story of audacity and courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds in the ‘60s, at the height of apartheid, soon after the arrest and imprisonment of political leaders such as Nelson Mandela. They went on to this audacious journey of envisioning African Bank. That story had almost been forgotten and we set out to reclaim it. And ever since we have done that, our journey has been filled with milestones and many achievements.

Your Journey In The Banking Industry Began When You Were 17, What Have You Learnt In Your Time In The Industry?

Banking is a unique industry. You don't have gold, silver, platinum, or manganese underneath the ground that brings you resources. We don't sell gadgets, nor do we sell products in the sense of what you manufacture, or what you farm.

At its core, banking is a creature of confidence. It takes confidence for people to entrust their deposits or their life savings and their pensions to you. It takes confidence for people to then entrust you to use those savings and deposits to extend out to the private sector as credit, or as capital, for a return. When they come back for their money, they expect to find it safe at your bank, with good interest.

How Has The Industry Changed Since You Joined?

The industry has changed in that banks have started to move beyond the concept of being a bank, and instead doubleclick on what it means to do banking. Because being a bank and doing banking are two very different things. We accept that in becoming the go-to partner for strategic alliances ecosystems, featuring fintechs and nonbank financial institutions, as well as value-added services and telcos, and by tapping into the convergence of big data and artificial intelligence, we really can be a customer-centric organisation that disrupts banks as we know them today.

What Inspired Your Passion For Transformation In The Financial Services Industry?

We are a bank that has diversity and inclusion in its DNA. We were founded by people who were excluded from the mainstream through apartheid policies, apartheid banking, and by many large institutions. We were founded by people who were obsessed about the power of financial services to enhance lives. We are passionate about understanding more accurately what our communities and our people seek. And so, we strongly believe in diversity as our strength and inclusivity as our differentiator.

What Do You Think Can Be Done To Transform The Industry?

We take the transformation of our workforce very seriously. We boast today a very diverse leadership, board, and executive team in terms of race, gender, psychographics and the demographics of age and background. This has enabled this bank to really look and feel like the customer base, it has enabled our people to be relatable to the communities that we seek to serve. When over half of your leaders at various levels of the organisation are women, and half of our people interacting with customers are women, it makes the female customer feel at home.

When you have addressed the issues of race better than your counterparts, in a country like South Africa that still deals with issues of apartheid legacy and racial discrimination, it really sets us apart and that is why I make the bold claim that our diversity is our strength and inclusivity is our differentiator. We see it in the customers’ feedback and the high net promoter scores that we get for our service. We see it in how our colleagues feel at home here.

For three years running, we have been voted a Top Employer in the banking industry because of the inclusive, diverse, workforce we employ and the work we have undertaken to create an environment in which they can thrive. When employee morale is so high, when you have customers developing a sense of allegiance, that ultimately results in the kind of financial numbers we have reported, but it also cements a very direct link in our minds. We believe that there is a very direct correlation between diversity and inclusivity, and sustainable financial performance.

What Would Be Your Advice For Young People Who Want To Get Into The Financial Services Industry?

At African Bank, we believe in the principles of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is the idea that I am because we are, that I can only advance when you advance, that no man is an island, that none of us can afford to be singular in our preoccupation. We have got to be communal in order for all of us to have success. We believe that our community’s success will be our success and that our humanity and ambitions are interconnected.

Any young person entering this industry needs to do so with the intent of helping others to succeed. They need to be committed to making a tangible difference in communities they serve, using the tools equipped to them via banking and financial services. Every loan that is written, every extension of credit made, cannot just be another loan product. It must help that mother take her child to school.

Every home loan can’t just be housing finance - it must enable that family to extend their place of abode so that it accommodates more family members or ensures safe and secure shelter. The funding given to entrepreneurs aren’t just medium-term facilities, but a means for them to go and express their talents, to be productive, to employ someone to create jobs, and to create a multiplier effect in the economy. That ensures that there’s food on the table for their employees.

That ensures that the boundaries of industry are stretched, and that we as a society can push back against unemployment, inequality, and poverty.

What Are The Most Important Leadership Lessons That Have Driven Your Success

I believe you are living your purpose when your passion is your work and your hobby. My passion lies in developing leaders better and greater than I and ensuring that we continue to produce great leaders in the bank.

Within our organisation, we are disciples of a concept called Steward Leadership. This is the art of leaving something in a better state than when you found it. We have inherited the cause of African Bank from the pioneers who founded it, and we want to preserve this disruptive, audacious attitude in how we think about hyper collaboration, how we think about innovation, and how we think about customers at the core of what we do.

As a leader, I also believe there is real value in developing your ability to listen. Nelson Mandela told a wonderful story about leadership and how the greatest leaders have developed the ability to listen. I therefore find a lot of joy in talking to people of different ages, and of different persuasions about leadership, whether it's self-leadership or leading others. Whether it's with family or with my community, the opportunity to spot leadership, to speak to leadership, to shine the spotlight on leadership and to espouse leadership is really what makes me tick.