Using technology to reach the unbanked - Capital Bank targets SMEs

Graphic Business Business News Dec - 08 - 2015 , 04:58

A new identity of the then First Capital Plus Bank has been unveiled with a promise to deliver superior services to clients using technology. Jessica Acheampong of the Graphic Business (GB) had a chat with the Managing Director of the bank, Reverend Fitzgerald Odonkor (FO), who first spoke about the kind of leadership and direction he was bringing on board.

FO: My approach to leadership is to inspire, energise and mentor the team towards the achievement of our corporate and personal goals. I believe in operating an open door policy by making myself accessible to all staff. It’s about believing in the inherent ability of each staff and giving them the opportunity to exhibit their talent. It’s also about enhancing the capacity of staff, keeping them highly motivated and equipping them with the skills needed to excel.

I am, therefore, people-oriented, accessible and goal driven. The greatest legacy I will like to leave the bank is to build a crop of young and competent leaders who can take the bank to higher heights. I bring on board decades of experience in the banking industry, locally and across the African continent, and decades of experience in people and talent management.

GB: What is your vision for the bank?

FO: Currently, the corporate vision for Capital Bank is to become the local bank of excellence for African markets, providing the standard of measure for stakeholder return. The strategic goal is to be a tier one universal bank in five years and pursue the path of internationalisation, especially across the African market. We are focused on building a strong world class African brand.

GB: What strategic steps are you taking to achieve this vision?

FO: Traditionally, the bank is focused on serving the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment of the market and this has largely informed the bank’s structure and expansion efforts. Our customer-focused solutions have traditionally also been geared towards solving the needs of the SME sector.

In order to achieve our vision, it has become important to enhance our capacity not only to be able to serve the needs of SMEs better but to be a stronger player in Ghana’s retail banking.

This will involve rapid expansion and accelerated growth, enhanced responsiveness, restructuring to give critical attention to key needs of the retail segment of the market, enhancement of human capital, deployment of technology to expand the frontiers of branchless banking and offer end- to- end digital banking solutions, efficiency across all facets of the value-delivery process.

GB: Deposit mobilisation has been very difficult in the banking sector due to many reasons. What is Capital Bank doing differently to attain a competitive edge?

FO: Deposit mobilisation has always been difficult due to a variety of reasons but to be able to mobilise cash, the banking process must be very convenient and customer-friendly. Capital Bank has been able to leverage on technology through the introduction of Ghana’s first SMS-based cash deposit solution dubbed SpeedBanking, which makes it possible for customers to deposit cash anytime, any day, anywhere through their mobile phones.

The strategic objective for developing SpeedBanking was to reach the unbanked segment of the market since research indicated that some factors that make banking unattractive to the unbanked included the fact that it was time consuming and some SME operators cannot leave their workplaces to deposit cash during the bank’s working hours since most of them do brisk business late afternoon.

GB: What is the success story of SpeedBanking?

FO: It is interesting to note that currently, over 95,000 individuals have signed onto the SpeedBanking platform and cash mobilised across all the various channels, including SpeedBanking from October, 2009, is over GH¢1.1 billion. Over the year SpeedBanking has evolved from purely a cash deposit solution into an e-payment solution to contribute towards Ghana’s cashless economic drive.

Plans are also far advanced to deepen market penetration of SpeedBanking by making it available in over 180 new outlets nationwide.

GB: Post rebranding, what should customers expect from the Capital Bank in 2016?

FO: In 2016, we will be deploying over 38 technologically advanced standalone automated teller machines and we will also be opening a minimum of six branches a year. By the first quarter of 2016 we will establish another contemporary branch in East Legon and continue to expand rapidly.

As a financial institution, technology and innovation has been a key driver of our strategic growth from inception and we are the first financial institution to make it possible for customers to deposit cash into their mobile phones through our SpeedBanking solution.

We have also deployed the latest core banking applications to maximise efficiency in our operations as well as the deployment of various mobile banking applications to simplify the banking process.

We have positioned ourselves to build a much stronger brand and grow our assets locally, achieve our strategic goal of being a tier one universal bank in five years.

GB: Can you give a brief profile about yourself and some principles you hold dear?

FO: I attended Achimota School and then proceeded to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and an MBA Finance option from the University of Ghana. I also studied for a Diploma in French Studies from the Alliance Francaise de Paris in France.

I have over three decades of banking experience within the

West African sub-region with working experiences in Ghana, Gambia and Togo.

I started my banking career in 1989 as a Finance Officer with the Bank for Housing & Construction and later moved to the Ecobank Group where I held various portfolios across West Africa. A few of the roles I held in the Ghana operations included: Deputy Operations Manager, Head of Cash Management, Group Trade Manager and Regional Head for Structured Transactions. In Togo, I was Head of Operations and later on I served as Project Manager and Managing Director for Ecobank Gambia.

I also worked as Chief Operations Officer at Merchant Bank and prior to being asked to serve as Managing Director at Capital Bank; I served on the Board and was the CEO of Fitzgerald Consult. I am also a Reverend Minister and the General Overseer of Harvest International Ministries.

In terms of my principles; my most basic principle is to always trust in God and to live by his principles. I believe that with God all things are possible and as such there is no limitation to what we can achieve.

I believe that one must always extend a helping hand because God uses us as vessels to impact the lives of other people and it’s always important to be conscious of that responsibility.

I believe that mentoring and motivating others to excel in their areas of interest is very important and should be the core mandate of every leader. It’s also important to have a strong-willed possibility attitude and to instill that possibility attitude in people around you. I believe that disposition was developed as a result of my unwavering faith in God who makes all things possible.