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, according to Andile Solutions.

 “Not only are they changing the industry, but they are helping to transform the African continent through financial systems that serve everyone,” explained Greg Dwyer, Treasury Subject Matter Expert at Andile Solutions.

He says 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.”

“Treasury projects in Africa have in the past been hobbled by poor implementations and legacy technology implemented in the region,” continued Dwyer. “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,” he added.

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 5 months as part of their digital transformation strategy.

"In just a few years, Fidelity Bank has grown to establish itself as a leading Fixed Income Trading and Distribution house in Ghana showing leadership in driving greater local market penetration and price discovery of instruments issued in Ghana. Being a local bank with a focus on adapting world-class innovation for local application, we needed partners that could help us sustain that drive, and we found it in Andile and Calypso,” commented Sam Aidoo, Deputy Managing Director (Wholesale Banking) at Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited.

Fredrick Mulenga, Treasurer at Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO), gives similar sentiments: “As the industry becomes increasingly dictated by technology, there has to be a greater code of alignment between IT and the business so that it moves away from being just a support function and becomes more of a partner to the business."

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,” assered Dennis Belford, MD for Africa, Calypso Technology.

Andries Brink, CEO of Andile Group, says 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.

“There’s an old African proverb: ‘If the rhythm of the drumbeat changes, then the dance steps must adapt,’” continued Brink. “The ability of banks in Africa to leapfrog through technology, unencumbered by legacy systems, will cause a banking revolution on the continent. It will leave laggards with a less forgiving future than what they could hope to expect,” he concluded.