Codebase Technologies recently gathered with an exclusive group of senior industry leaders and delegates from banks and payments providers in Ethiopia to address the challenges shaping the Ethiopian financial sector.
In particular, the group discussed current market gaps and opportunities for building omnichannel customer experiences, and how Codebase Technologies can help financial institutions launch their
omnichannel propositions.
The current Ethiopian market is ripe for omnichannel solutions with new mobile licenses being issued, growth in mobile penetration (18%, 2019-2020), and a large population of young consumers (60% of Africans are under 25).
With such a fertile landscape, financial institutions that want to attract modern customers need to look toward digitization and omnichannel solutions to acquire, engage and retain new customers, particularly in the face of growing competition locally and from foreign brands. Africa is the second largest banking market in the world in terms of growth and profitability and by 2022, the number of Africans with bank accounts is expected to reach 456 million.
As of 2020, about 40% of Africans stated that they prefer to use digital channels for banking transactions. Omnichannel has now gone beyond internet banking, and mobile and SMS banking to include channels such as social media, where users spend significant time. In 2019 alone, active social media users in Africa grew by around 13%.
Key topics discussed at the Executive Briefing were the role of regulators in fast-tracking digital transformation, major drivers for Ethiopian banks looking for omnichannel solutions, what to expect from foreign banks entering the Ethiopian market, and the state of readiness of Ethiopia for omnichannel solutions.
Keynote speaker Paul Nilsen, Codebase Technologies, Managing Director for Africa, CIS, and Global SaaS spoke about how the company helps financial institutions design and build innovative customer propositions using its Digibanc CX solution, which contains a range of customer-centric experience modules such as omnichannel banking.
Codebase Technologies highlighted key omnichannel case studies of past projects including KFH-Bahrain whereby Codebase Technologies was able to increase customer engagement by 77%, and increase cross-sell ratio of cards, investments, and loans by 48%, and reduce acquisition and onboarding costs by 60%.
The Roshan Digital Account project completed for Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) Pakistan was also highlighted whereby Codebase Technologies’ Digibanc platform allowed the Bank to reduce their Digital Roshan Accounts cost of acquisition and operations by 60%. The Roshan Digital project was the 1st digital onboarding and capital investment product for an Islamic Digital bank.
Paul Nilsen commented on the event, “We’re very happy to have engaged with industry leaders in Ethiopia and hear their pain points with regards to changing customer demands and how their institutions are planning to adopt. Digibanc CX is a powerful omnichannel platform and we look forward to helping Ethiopian banks, payments providers, and fintech leverage this solution to create a fantastic new experience for African customers.”
Codebase Technologies is one of the world's fastest-growing open API banking solutions providers. With a vision to “disrupt the way technology is utilized, for a greater purpose, and quot; the company engineers impactful digital financial experiences for conventional and Islamic banks, fintech, neo-banks, lenders, and start-ups.
Codebase Technologies has launched several digital, challenger, and neobanks and financial propositions across the UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain, UK, and Africa with a proven success rate and unparalleled speed to market. As a result, Codebase Technologies has grown exponentially as a digital banking technology pioneer in the global banking industry.