Patrick Mweheire, Standard Bank Group’s Regional Chief Executive for East Africa said the bank is delighted to welcome Mumba to the Standard Bank Group—in particular, to the Stanbic Bank Uganda team. “His extensive experience in the banking sector and understanding of this market, coupled with his leadership expertise, makes him ideal to lead our business in Uganda,” he said. “The Board is confident that his strategic thinking, business acumen, and passion for excellence will continue to drive growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction.”

Mumba brings to the team nearly 30 years of post-qualification experience, 20 of which have been in the banking sector, mostly in senior leadership roles covering business development, risk management, strategy formulation, and finance strategy in three African markets including Botswana, Zambia, and for the last five years—Uganda.

“I am pleased with the opportunity to embark on this new challenge,” said Mumba. “Together with the other leaders across the organization, I am looking forward to building on the bank’s solid foundation and contributing to the purpose of driving Uganda’s growth, creating even more shared value for all stakeholders.”

Damoni Kitabire, Board Chairman, Stanbic Bank Uganda said the bank has enjoyed a strong growth journey in recent years and they are confident that under Mumba’s leadership, the bank will continue to experience even more success as they execute their commitment to drive Uganda’s growth.

Mumba holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Herriot Watt University (Scotland) and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom) and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA, UK).

The post Mumba Kenneth Kalifungwa Appointed as New CEO of Stanbic Bank Uganda appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

An unprecedented first in Africa, the syndication, valued at a total of $202 million ($165M in Kenya and $37m in Uganda), included seven lenders and is the largest syndicated facility in the fintech sector in Africa and the largest syndicated sustainable finance facility in East Africa.

Nick Riley, the Corporate Financing Solutions at Standard Bank Group said as the mandated lead arranger and largest funder to the syndication, Standard Bank was the only commercial bank able to bring together all the funders in a structure of this nature, something “they are very proud of”.

Anneke Lunde, the Executive of Sustainable Finance at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking noted that supporting M-KOPA is in line with their purpose of driving sustainable growth for Africa and her people. She applauded M-KOPA for managing to positively impact so many lives by enabling access to solar-powered systems and smartphone connectivity, which are a vital part of enabling the economic empowerment of all.

As a Fintech business that has achieved significant scale, M-KOPA demonstrates the African continent’s young, critical, and vibrant population’s economic potential that makes for an attractive prospect for foreign investors.

“Africa has significant economic potential, especially for foreign investors, which is why we remain committed to working with M-KOPA as it improves financial inclusion across the continent for millions of Africans who struggle to access credit,” said Riley.

For a business like M-KOPA to expand geographically, they require a reliable mechanism to raise funding in multiple currencies. Standard Bank’s ability to structure and arrange solutions that cater to several currencies means M-KOPA is well-equipped to hedge the risk of foreign exchange in its funding structure.

Although the last decade has seen M-KOPA grow impressively, they have ambitions to reach a target of over 10 million customers over the next few years, as well as expand further into various African markets. This ambition calls for a considered effort to ensure sustainable growth over the coming years. Standard Bank supports these ambitions by incentivizing M-KOPA to reach its environmental and social goals by embedding a series of Environmental, Social, and Green key performance indicators within the funding structure, spanning from gender equality to sustainability.

M-KOPA CEO and Co-Founder, Jesse Moore said, “Not only does Standard Bank Group provide an innovative and bespoke approach to our financing needs, but their knowledge and understanding of the African continent also enable us to achieve our ambitions.”

Moore emphasized that the bank remains an important partner in their growth journey and is supportive of their aspirations to ensure that Africa continues to grow and ultimately thrive.

Regarded as a pioneering and leading fintech platform in Africa, M-KOPA’s solutions provide underbanked customers with instant access to everyday products and services via its flexible credit model.

M-KOPA’s customers are able to acquire a broad range of productive assets such as high-quality smartphones, solar-powered systems, electric motorbikes as well as digital financial services, which include cash loans and health insurance, all accessed through digital micropayments, in East and West Africa, thereby stimulating financial access and inclusion.

ALSO READ: M-KOPA, MTN AVAIL SMARTPHONES THAT CAN BE BOUGHT IN INSTALLMENTS

Since its inception in 2011, M-KOPA has provided over $1 billion in credit to more than 3 million customers, thereby avoiding 2.2 million tonnes of carbon emissions through clean energy products and allowing almost 2 million individuals to access high-quality smartphones, positively impacting over 5.5 million lives on the continent.

The post Standard Bank Backs M-KOPA’s Growth in Kenya, Uganda With Sustainable Facilities appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Flagged off to thousands of excited revelers at Kalerwe Market, the six-month-long campaign is aimed at creating awareness, educating, and enrolling mostly new-to-bank Ugandans onto the FlexiPay digital wallet.

The choice of the campaign launch speaks to the design and nature of FlexiPay —a digital payments and transactions solution accessible on USSD technology, just like mobile money, enabling users to load, receive or send money and make merchant payments without necessarily having to open a bank account.

What makes FlexiPay unique?

Stanbic Bank’s Executive Head for Consumer Banking Mr. Israel Arinaitwe said that FlexiPay is cheaper for transactions compared to other options on the market. That is why the campaign is aptly named, ‘do it for less’ through a simple joining process of *291# on any phone.

FlexiPay which can also be downloaded as an app doesn’t require users to have a Stanbic Bank account before they can be registered —anyone can sign-up for FlexiPay including customers of other banks.

The FlexiPay Sales and Distribution Manager Mr. Joseph Ndoboli said, “For the longest time, the people were going to the banks to seek financial services. With technology, banking services are now going to the people. All one needs is a phone to enjoy almost all services accessed by account-holding customers such as loans, money transfers, and merchant payments.”

With a long list of financial services, FlexiPay is seen as an affordable game changer allowing customers and merchants to make payments directly from their FlexiWallet to other wallets and conduct a wide range of transactions at no cost or for less.

For instance, FlexiPay Wallet holders can link their debit and virtual cards to enable them to pay bills while Stanbic Bank customers can directly fund their wallets from their bank accounts and pay bills or merchants.

Customers’ current options include bancassurance, bill payments (utilities, pay-tv, airtime data, fuel); receiving international remittances; paying school and university fees/tuition; payment for goods and services; and savings. Merchants can also receive payments, pay for stocks, pay operational costs, pay staff wages and salaries, and manage and access funds.

Targeting a million wallet

After several months of successful user experience testing and below-the-line promotion, FlexiPay has gained an impressive customer base currently estimated to be more than 400,000 wallets, driving transactions worth billions of shillings in monthly value.

With the new campaign, Stanbic Bank says the aim is to more than double the current user base to a million wallets by the close of the second half (Q2) of 2023.

Stanbic is banking on FlexiPay to drive its mass financial inclusion national agenda of getting more unbanked Ugandans especially women and youth, into the realm of formal financial services, a key priority under Chief Executive Anne Juuko’s leadership.

Currently, only less than 7% of the bank’s transactions are processed through the lender’s extensive traditional branch network with the bulk of customer business handled through agent bankers and self-service channels such as mobile and internet banking.

“With FlexiPay, we seek to widen the self-service options available for our customers, to enable them to access safe, affordable, and convenient banking services wherever and whenever they need to,” said Arinaitwe.

How to self-serve on FlexiPay

1. Download the FlexiPay app from your app store.
2. Open the App and click on Get Started.
3. Enter your preferred phone number for easy contact and communication. This will be the phone number the app sends all verification codes and other messages.
4. Check the box that you affirm to the Terms and Conditions, then Click continue. This will validate your phone number.
5. If registered, the app will direct you to the self-serve page, and if not registered, the app will prompt you to register. With or without a Stanbic Bank account, you can open up an account with FlexiPay.
6. You are good to go! Enjoy FlexiPay.

ALSO READ: STANBIC BANK UGANDA LAUNCH A DIGITALIZED PLATFORM TO SIMPLIFY TRADE

The post Stanbic Targeting a Million FlexiPay Wallets by Q2 2023 in a New Campaign appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The launch of the scheme comes at a time when the University prepares to open fully for all its students this week, who will study under the blended mode of learning —both physical and online lectures.

Stanbic Bank Uganda Chief Executive Officer Anne Juuko said the partnership will see Stanbic Bank Uganda support Makerere University to deliver on its mandate, better. She added that the arrangement was part of Stanbic’s pioneering spirit of recognizing the challenge and desiring to be part of the solution.

Juuko said the Covid-19 Pandemic changed the way learning is delivered to students which we must adjust to because it is the “new normal”. During the lockdown, she said, universities resorted to online teaching, but students did not have laptops to partake in digital classes —through this scheme, Stanbic Bank is providing a future readiness solution.

“This initiative is also one way of walking the talk of our business purpose —Uganda is home, we drive her growth. When education services reopened after two years of inactivity, Stanbic was the only bank that waived all unpaid accumulated interest on loans owed by schools, up to December 2021. We shall continue to play this corporate leadership role,” explained Juuko.

Juuko emphasized that it is the duty of employers [in Uganda] to partner with institutions to produce graduates that are employable. “I can tell you now that if you are not digitally savvy, you cannot be employed, that is the gold standard that has been set by the market,” she said.

Juuko says students having acquired laptops will now be in a position to carry out their research projects and other assignments.

The Vice-Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe applauded Stanbic Bank for being a longstanding partner of Makerere University and willingly agreeing to support the acquisition of laptops by students eager to embrace digital learning.

“If our students cannot do digital learning, then who is going to push our country into the digital era? On this note, let us be serious as a country and support digital learning because that is the future,” said Nawangwe.

Nawangwe also reminded the students’ community that the University had arrangements with MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda to zero-rate the University’s online platforms in a bid to make digital learning affordable. The arrangement began at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

In addition to zero-rating the University’s online platforms, Nawangwe said they are in talks with the University’s Internet Service Provider, Research and Education Network of Uganda (RENU) to grant similar access to other platforms such as Zoom, a development he says will facilitate digital learning.

Makerere University has a population of over 35,000 students who have the potential to take advantage of the ‘Student Laptop Hire Scheme’.

Shamim Nambassa, the Guild President of Makerere University said the bank has given the education system meaning with this offering. “It is now time to say that we the students are the cream of Africa in line with Makerere University’s 100 years’ celebration theme of building a transformed society.”

The bank chose to start with Makerere University but plans to roll out the scheme to the rest of the institutions across the country.

Sam Mwogeza, the Executive Head, Consumer & High Net Worth Products at Stanbic Bank Uganda said students seeking to acquire financing for new laptops will have to do so through their parents or guardians. They will be required to fill out a form obtainable at any Stanbic Bank branch across the country. “The scheme is designed to help parents with a steady source of revenue to apply and access the laptop financing on behalf of their learners,” he noted.

Mwogeza explained that “With the most affordable laptop priced at UGX2.1 million, one can now access a loan and pay UGX58,000 in monthly installments over a three-year period. Parents are allowed to do early repayment of the loan without being charged.”

Parents who are Stanbic Bank customers simply have to apply for an unsecured loan of up to UGX5 million and once approved, the details of the student are sent to the contracted vendor who then delivers the laptop to the beneficiary. To circumvent risks such as theft and damage, the bank will have all laptops purchased under the scheme, fully insured.

The scheme will be managed through FlexiPay —an all-in-one digital solution that allows customers to make charge-free payments efficiently with real-time reconciliation and easy tracking.

ALSO READ: MTN UGANDA, M-KOPA TO AVAIL SMARTPHONES AT INSTALLMENT PAYMENT TERMS

The post Makerere University, Stanbic Bank Launch a Student Laptop Hire Scheme appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, face-to-face interactions have been reduced and international travel restricted. Trade must however must go on, and hence the need introduce and use digital solutions such as Quantum Trade where everything from applications to issuance is fully digitalized, enhancing speed and transparency.

“We have designed the Quantum Trade platform to cater for two pathways taking account of differences in frequency of usage by clients. The platform is encouraged for clients with frequent or high volume of Import Letters of Credit and or Domestic Guarantee requirements. However, an alternative path exists for clients with occasional need for LCs and/or Guarantees, which doesn’t require the full onboarding process, and termed a walk-in path,” Mr. Tunde Thorpe, Head of Transactional Products and Service at Stanbic Bank.

To access the platform, clients have to first pre-register then can proceed to access the platform via our online portal from the comfort of their offices or homes. To complete their application, the clients need to download and print the application and deliver to the nearest Stanbic bank branch for the necessary checks. The application process is intuitive, easy to complete and can be done within a few minutes.”

For either path, the first step would be for clients to contact their relationship manager or the nearest branch.

Being fully digitalized platform, customers can remotely access the service with minimal manual intervention, as well as real time tracking of application status, supported by prompt email notifications.

Thorpe said, “Quantum Trade also brings an element of data analytics to bear. Leveraging on client transaction history on the platform, the system is able to present pre-populated offers for application to the client, thus saving time and effort. There is a lot more visibility and transparency around transaction costs, giving clients a view of transaction costs per application.”

In addition, users will have access to the bank’s Trade Club Platform to complement their business activities by affording them an opportunity to interact with other business people across the globe.

“Quantum Trade’s contribution towards the county’s economic growth is hinged primarily on facilitating trade, including foreign trade, which according to World Bank figures accounts for 48.2 % of Uganda’s GDP, in a simple efficient manner,” Thorpe said.

The convenience and efficiency that Quantum trade brings to the Domestic Application process helps put clients in a better position to vie for such opportunities, as they are able to meet up with some of the requirements more promptly, Thorpe said.

The  digital nature of transactions consummated on Quantum Trade,  creates a data footprint of sorts, which can be harnessed in future to garner insights that can be used for the betterment of the economy, of course subject to the provisions of the data privacy laws.

It goes without saying that Trade is a critical ingredient for economic growth given its role in raising standards of living, providing employment, and enabling consumers to enjoy a wider variety of goods and services.

The post Stanbic Bank Uganda Launch a Digitalized Platform To Simplify Trade appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

For the first time during the past seven months, the headline Stanbic Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipped below the 50.0, posting a reading of 49.8 from 51.2 in December 2020.

The PMI is a composite index, calculated as a weighted average of five individual sub-components: New Orders (30%); Output (25%); Employment (20%); Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks of Purchases (10%). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.

However, in spite of some signs of weakness at the start of the year, firms remained confident that output will rise over the next 12 months. For Instance, in the agriculture and industry sectors, outputs rose whereas construction, services and wholesale and retail saw a decrease.

Ferishka Bharuth, Economist Africa Regions at Stanbic Bank said, “New orders dropped in January, thereby ending a six-month sequence of expansion. According to respondents, a lack of client activity around the election period was one factor acting to reduce new business.

“The election period also dampened activity at some monitored companies, but overall output continued to increase. Growth was recorded in the agriculture and industry categories, but falls were seen in construction, services and wholesale and retail,” she said.

Using findings from about 400 respondents, the report contains the latest analysis of data collected from the monthly survey of business conditions in the Ugandan private sector. The survey is sponsored by Stanbic Bank and produced by IHS Mark it. It has been conducted since June 2016 and covers the agriculture, industry, construction, services, wholesale and retail sectors.

According to the January report, with new orders down, companies scaled back their staffing levels and purchasing activity. Uncertainty and a lack of customer activity around the elections reportedly led to the reduction in new orders. On the other hand, some panelists saw their customer numbers increase. The industry, services and wholesale and retail categories all saw new orders decline.

In line with lower employment, firms also noted a drop in staff costs. Purchase prices continued to rise, meanwhile, driving an eighth successive monthly increase in overall input costs. As has been the case in each of the past eight months, purchase costs rose in the Ugandan private sector at the start of 2021. A range of raw materials reportedly cost more in January, including cement, paper, stationery, sugar and other food products.

Efforts to pass on higher cost burdens to customers resulted in a rise in selling prices, following a fall in the previous month. Stocks of purchases rose, increasing for the sixth time in the past seven months. The latest increase in part reflected the fall in new orders, which meant that fewer inputs were used to support output.

Confidence around new order inflows, particularly following the elections period, supported optimism that business activity will increase over the coming year. Close to 84% of respondents expressed a positive outlook at the start of the year

The post Business Activity Declines For The First Time in Seven Months appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Stanbic Bank Manager, Digital and Social Media, Ms. Unnie Wamala, said the online account opening is intended to offer customers a quick, simplified and convenient way to open an account and get plenty of rewards after a series of successful transactions.

“We are excited to offer an easy platform for anyone who would like to open an online account with Stanbic Bank. As the bank that aims to make our clients dreams possible, it is important that we have an online gateway for customers to open accounts and unlock convenience. Anyone can open a personal bank account online with minimum fuss and yet win exciting cash prizes while accessing world class banking services,” Wamala explained.

Wamala noted that customers can now open accounts on the go using any camera compatible device with internet compatibility such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. The application is web-based, accessible off the bank website www.stanbicbank.co.ug.

The service also provides the opportunity for customers to deposit and immediately start transacting any amount onto their account remotely using our ATMs, Cash Deposit Machines, Agents and Mobile Money right away. 

Wamala said that this opens one to a world of digital platforms that offer instant digital loans in 2 minutes, online international payments, online forex, bill and school fees payments and accessing bank statements, all without visiting the branch.

“Now more than ever, we are committed to making our customers lives easy while also being cognizant of the current times, we have to adapt and adopt alternative platforms to do our banking. We strongly believe in putting our customers at the center of everything we do. With this objective in mind, we have continued to introduce digital innovations and made improvements to our banking processes that have put our customers in greater control of their overall banking experience,” Wamala concluded.

The post Stanbic Bank ‘Kwata Kwata’ Campaign to Reward Customers Opening Personal Accounts Online appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Stanbic customers who have currently applied for a new card, renewed or replaced their existing cards will receive the contactless Visa cards.

Mr. Israel Arinaitwe, the Head of Personal Banking at Stanbic Bank Uganda while at the launch of the cards said, the new ‘tap and go’ cards will allow its customer’s funds to be deducted directly from a linked bank account, and within the set card limits.

“These contactless cards are embedded with specialized chip and wireless antenna utilizing Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that enables a seamless payment process with increased security to allow customers keep their card with them rather than handing to the cashiers and having to enter a PIN or sign a slip,” said Arinaitwe.

With these cards, while making a payment, the card creates a unique transaction code to make secure payments between a contactless card and a contactless-enabled checkout terminal. The contactless cards will also carry Visa card logo to indicate their contactless capability. 

The introduction of this method of payment is intended to make it easier, safer, and faster for our customers to transact, Arinaitwe urged. “The cards improve customer convenience, with shorter transaction times and remove the need to withdraw or handle cash. Security is also improved as a customer keeps their card with them rather than handing it to someone else.”

To protect and safeguard the bank customers from fraudulent activities, Arinaitwe said their contactless cards customers will be provided with a biometric digital ID to use when performing any transactions. In that it is the perfect solution —providing an enjoyable customer experience with a high level of security.

Stanbic Bank is enabling this payment capability for customers across 15 countries (Uganda Inclusive). Arinaitwe emphasizes that the roll-out of the new cards is in line with their customers’ increasing preference for solutions that add ease and convenience to their lives.

“The shift away from cash and towards contactless payment methods has only been accelerated by the pandemic and will continue to grow under the new normal,” he says.

The bank strives to be at the forefront of new financial innovation and technology to make customers remotely access bank services. As they adjust to the new normal, they are dedicated to providing a comprehensive and seamless customer experience, reduce cash dependency and ultimately increase the adoption of digital payments and transaction platforms.

Stanbic Bank is the second bank we have heard and come across, that is now issuing and adopting to the contactless Visa cards. In July this Absa Uganda (Formely Barclays Bank) launched the contactless visa cards nearly eight months after launching the Absa brand in Uganda. Absa was the first bank to roll-out this new feature on visa cards.

The contactless cards comes at the time the world is battling with the Covid-19 pandemic, where there’s need for increased adoption of cashless payment options in the face of growing safety concerns. How it works;

1. At any outlet; supermarkets, salons, beauty shops, fuel stations, boutiques, restaurants, pharmacies or any other merchant with a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, ask the teller if you can pay using your contactless card.
2. The teller initiates the payment on their system for the transaction to take place.
3. The customer then holds their card over the contactless-enabled POS terminal at least 2mm from the terminal to make the payment. There will be no need to enter the PIN, and you can get a receipt at request.

The innovation not only benefits the customers but the merchants as well. The feature is swift giving merchants time to handle more customers in a queue.

The post Stanbic Bank Uganda Launches Contactless Visa Cards to Improve Customer Convenience appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The statement further states that the system incident has not impacted any balances on both Bank and Mobile Money accounts for customers.

Notably, the issue was raised by some customers who took to social media claiming the bank “illegally” instructed telecommunication company, MTN Uganda to block their MTN mobile money accounts.

However, Stanbic Bank Uganda deined doing so and went on to apologize for the inconvenience. They later added that their “technical teams were analyzing the incident and will restore services as soon as possible.”

They promised that all blocked lines were going to be unblocked by close of business Tuesday this week.

Normally, customers would deposit and withdraw cash from their bank accounts to their Mobile Money accounts. This service from the partner institutions guarantees customers both convenience and a more cost effective way of transacting.

The post Stanbic Bank Uganda Temporarily Suspends Bank to Mobile Money Services appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The start of the third quarter of 2020 saw the Ugandan private sector return to growth following a downturn caused by Covid-19. Output and new orders both increased, but employment continued to fall. 

Kenneth Kitungulu, the Stanbic Bank Uganda Head of Global Markets said, “The easing of Covid-19 lockdown measures and reopening of public transport contributed to an increase in new orders during July, the first since February.”

“Output also returned to growth during the month, again helped by looser restrictions. The overall increase in activity was centered on the services and wholesale & retail sectors as shopping centers opened, with agriculture, construction and industry posting declines,” he added.

However, a second consecutive rise in overall input costs was recorded, with higher prices for purchases, transportation and utilities signaled. The overall increase was registered despite a reduction in staff costs, as financial pressures led companies to lower employment levels and cut wages.

Selling prices increased for the first time in four months as companies passed on higher cost burdens to their customerswhich will further accelerate inflationary pressures going forward. On 30th July, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics announced that Annual Headline Inflation had accelerated to 4.7%, the highest since October 2017 up from 4.1% in June despite a drop in prices of food crops.

The PMI is a composite index, calculated as a weighted average of five individual sub-components: New Orders (30%), Output (25%), Employment (20%), Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks of Purchases (10%).  

The monthly survey involving some 400 respondents is sponsored by Stanbic Bank and produced by IHS Markit. It has been conducted since June 2016 and covers agriculture, industry, construction, wholesale & retail and service sectors.

Although new orders increased in July, the recent period of decline meant that spare capacity remained present in the private sector. As a result, firms were able to deplete backlogs of work again and continued to scale back staffing levels and purchasing activity. 

Jibran Qureishi, Head of Africa Research at Stanbic Bank said, “This is the first reading above the 50 mark since February andit doesn’t come as a surprise given that domestic containmentmeasures have been eased while external demand has alsomodestly picked up. The outlook still remains uncertain amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.”

According to the July report, lower demand for inputs helped suppliers to speed up delivery times during the month. The improvement in vendor performance was the first since February. 

Business sentiment remained positive, with hopes that the Covid-19 outbreak will subside and business conditions return to normal supporting confidence.

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