06 Oct 2022

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB)’s 125^th anniversary speaks to resilience, relevance, and most of all, the ability to adapt and reinvent internal processes over time, says its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mpho Masupe.

Briefing the media recently, Mr Masupe said they prided  themselves in being a bank of many firsts, adding that their longevity in the market and strong network had enabled them to deliver quicker, better and faster financial services to their clients.

“We were the first bank in the market to operate a 24-hour Client Care Centre, our ZAR and USD dispensing ATMs were novel when they were first implemented and we were the first to introduce Setswana and Mandarin language ATMs,” he said.

Mr Masupe said the bank remained the first and only bank to offer end-to-end account opening via digital platforms, adding that Standard Chartered Mobile App, was continuously evolving and improving. He said its worth was evidenced by winning Global Finance - Best Consumer Digital Bank for seven consecutive years.

He said their commitment to Botswana was not only seen through their core business endeavours, but also through the way they had co-existed with local communities.

“This is at the heart of our brand promise, Here for good - our promise is not a suggestion, it is a lived experience that we strive to succeed in, as we carry out our daily activities,” he said.

Mr Masupe said the core of the bank’s business was clients who had proven their loyalty over time, as being faithful was rare these days due to numerous available choices across the market.

Therefore, he said it was only fair for the bank to appreciate and acknowledge those who hade committed their time and energy to build the brand and contribute to its 125 years milestone.

On other issues, he said the bank took climate change seriously hence their extended efforts to track their carbon output and consistently find ways to reduce waste in the environment.

“These changes have been gradual, but we can see that as we make these small changes, they will gather momentum over time. This can also be evidenced by our recently launched challenge to plant 12,500 indigenous trees across Botswana by June 2023,” he said.

For his part, Regional CEO AME, Mr Sunil Kaushal said their commitment to Botswana was evidenced by the continued investment into the local franchise, adding that they had overhauled their distribution network to ensure that clients from far and wide could access the bank digitally, from anywhere.

“Another key area of focus for the bank is women empowerment. Not only do we know that women are the backbone of every society. We also know that Botswana and other African markets have large concentrations of women entrepreneurs,” he said.

Mr Kaushal said the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, showed that Botswana, Uganda, and Ghana had the highest concentration of female entrepreneurs, with Botswana leading the pack at 38.5 per cent.

This, he said ensured that women’s inclusion was a key focus for the bank as it aimed to lift the participation of women in communities. Ends