The onslaught of challenger banks in Africa will continue to disrupt the competitive landscape in the financial services sector and these banks are aggressive digital-first players looking to change the industry.
That’s according to Greg Dwyer, Treasury Subject Matter Expert at Andile Solutions, who added: “Not only are they changing the industry, but they are helping to transform the African continent through financial systems that serve everyone”.
He said Andile recently helped usher two significant fintech evolutions into the African market. “We identified real needs for a modern treasury system, one that embraces digital transformation, is quick on time-to-market with our local market knowledge and reduced total cost of ownership to name a few.
“These are some of the typical challenges faced by Africa’s challenger banks, a new breed of financial institutions that leverages technology and modernity to bring better and cheaper services to the continent’s customers.”
He said treasury projects in Africa have in the past been hobbled by poor implementations and legacy technology. “African banks have been treated like any other international bank, with little local context.
“Calypso has addressed this with their Bank-in-A-Box program, which has enabled Andile to reduce their implementation time and thereby significantly reduce implicit and explicit cost to new clients. Such treasury system projects are accomplished through Andile’s partnership with Calypso.”
Calypso is a leading global provider of cross-asset front-to-back technology solutions for financial markets, recently named Best Treasury Management System in the bobsguide Awards for 2019.
One of Andile’s success stories is the implementation of Calypso for Fidelity Bank, the leading market player in Ghana’s Fixed Income and Debt Capital Market. Another recent success is the implementation of Calypso for Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO). It was delivered in just five months as part of their digital transformation strategy.
Battle tested
By leveraging its partnership with Calypso, Andile has been able to provide African banks with a battle-tested target operating model to meet their treasury needs. This enables the challenger bank to proactively adapt to ever-changing market conditions whilst being able to manage the risk associated efficiently.
“Our partner program is extremely successful. It provides our clients with a more nurturing engagement required to implement our leading technology to banks in Africa. We have to remain relevant to African markets by providing world-class and appropriate African oriented solutions,” said Dennis Belford, MD for Africa, Calypso Technology.
Andries Brink, CEO of Andile Group, said these are signs of Andile’s commitment to maintain and grow Africa’s place as a major player in the global financial workplace. “Methodologies and innovation evolving from our African experience are now being deployed by Calypso globally, demonstrating that world-class solutions wherever deployed in the global marketplace including Africa are key markers for success.” – GeekWire.co.za
