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In one of his very first media interviews, Julius Kakeeto, the transformational PostBank Uganda (PBU) Chief Executive Officer, told CEO East Africa Magazine that his mid-term agenda was to transform the government-owned financial institution into a “tier 1 fully fledged digital commercial bank at the heart of the country’s economic growth”.
Digitalisation, according to Kakeeto was the fastest and the most affordable and efficient way the bank could achieve its mission to offer affordable financial services that drive financial inclusion to many of Uganda’s unserved population, with a major focus on agriculture and Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises.
“It is estimated that 60% of Ugandans are involved in the Agriculture sector and a large majority of Ugandans are involved in entrepreneurship activity as a means of survival,” Kakeeto reiterated, adding: “Agriculture is not just about farmers tilling the land, fishing or rearing animals. The agro sector has a large ecosystem that includes – suppliers and manufacturers of farm input, transport, storage, vendors in markets, agro-processing, traders, etc. Almost all Ugandans are involved in these activities in one way or another or they have family members or associates involved. By PBU focusing on Agriculture and MSME, we believe we are at the core of the economy in terms of job creation and entrepreneurship”.
To deliver on this purpose, Kakeeto led the bank through a restructuring process that saw him attract several top talents from the leading financial institutions to lead this transformation agenda.
One of the key talents, he tapped on to lead the digitalisation agenda, was Andrew Kabeera the bank’s Executive Director and Chief Digital Financial Services Officer. A seasoned banker, Kabeera brought with him to PostBank over 15 years of proven leadership capabilities, key among them: business strategy, product development, operations and operational excellence, systems integration/migration and acquisition experience.
The bank then went through a massive digital transformation that among others, saw to the upgrading of the core banking system from the existing decade-old system to Finacle version 10. On the back of this, the bank was also able to complete the revamping of its self-service channels; mobile application, USSD code *263# and internet banking.
Having met all the regulatory requirements, the bank in December 2021, received her tier-1 banking license.
To complement its digitalisation agenda, the bank in May 2022 also revamped its ATM engine, climaxing in the installation of sixty (60) smart ATMs at all its branches.
The bank has been able to achieve all this, all the while registering healthy and profitable growth. In the 4 years to the end of 2022, the bank’s net profitability has been growing at a CAGR of 16.3%, from a profit of UGX8.3 billion in 2019 to UGX15.2 billion at the end of 2022.
Over and above this rich digital infrastructure, the bank has also been investing in its physical distribution network, adding some 15 news branches to the 43 branches that Kaketo inherited in 2019, closing 2023 at 58 branches and 14 mobile banking vans.
Wendi: A new dawn in digital transformation
To accelerate its financial inclusion agenda, the bank in November 2023, launched the Wendi mobile wallet, with a promise to usher in a new era of financial empowerment for the unbanked and underserved Ugandans.
Wendi is an electronic payments platform developed by PostBank Uganda and licensed by the Bank of Uganda under the National Payments Act 2020. It is available for retail customers, agents as well as groups and is accessible via multiple channels i.e., the Web portal, a Mobile Application and USSD short code (*229#).
The platform offers a bouquet of services which include a Groups’ and SACCOs’ management functionality, the ability to transfer funds within Wendi, to mobile money accounts (Airtel and MTN) as well as bank accounts, deposits, withdraws and savings both personal and group.
The savings solution therein enables users to save as little as UGX20,000/= and earn daily interest which is also paid out on a daily.
One of Wendi’s strengths lies in its ability to enable customers to self-onboard through both the Mobile App -Wendi and the USSD short code *229# and then providing their mobile number and National Identification Details.
So far, Wendi has enrolled over 200,000 beneficiaries and paid out UGX200 billion. It has also served over 4,700 Saccos, out of whom, 2,400 are beneficiaries of the government of Uganda’s Parish Development Model (PDM). Altogether, Wendi presently serves over 480,000 customers.
This incredible feat has been achieved through especially strategic partnerships with two other government-owned banks- Housing Finance Bank and Pride Microfinance Ltd, as well as MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited (MTN MoMo) and Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (AMCUL). Through these partnerships, Wendi has a ubiquitous distribution network composed of over 2000 bank agents, and 58 bank branches, complemented by over 250,000 agents of MTN & Airtel across the country.
Such has been its phenomenal impact that in less than one year of its debuting on the market, Wendi won the Best Customer Experience Programme Award at the 2023 Silverback Awards – Uganda’s leading recognition platform for excellence, innovation, and impact in the marketing, advertising and communications industry. It also won the Banking Innovation Excellence (2023) award at the Digital Impact Awards Africa.
“Wendi is more than just a mobile wallet; it’s a financial lifeline for the masses, investment clubs, and Saccos. It simplifies bill payments, including those for UMEME, NWSC, and school fees, as well as withdrawals, deposits, fund transfers, and digital savings for groups and individuals,” Julius Kakeeto says.
“With Wendi, every Ugandan can effortlessly convert their phone number into an account number, granting them remote access to essential banking services. The strength of Wendi lies in its robust and secure technology, enabling users to self-onboard and undergo instant verification using their Ugandan national ID, ensuring a seamless and secure experience,” Kabeera reiterates.
A homegrown solution⏤ meet the PostBank team behind Wendi
Perhaps even more monumental is that Wendi is a homegrown solution developed by PostBank’s own in-house team, in partnership with Ugandan-based technology partners.
Here below, the CEO East Africa Magazine presents the Wendi Project’s core development team.
Andrew Kabeera
Executive Director and Chief Digital Financial Services Officer
Andrew Kabeera is a seasoned banker, with a raft of market-tested leadership capabilities, key among them: business strategy, product development, operations and operational excellence, systems integration/migration and acquisition experience.
Before joining PostBank, Kabeera was the Chief Operating Officer at dfcu Bank. He also served at Standard Chartered Bank Uganda in various roles, namely: Head of Consumer Banking Operations, Head of Banking Operations and Head of Commercial, Corporate and Institutional Banking Operations.
As Chief Digital Financial Services Officer Kabeera leads the digitisation agenda of the bank and as such was the overall head of the Wendi Project, ensuring it is delivered on time and within budget.
A respected industry leader, between 2010-2012, he was the Chairman of the Uganda Bankers Association’s clearing committee and between 2015 and 2016, Kabeera was the chairman Uganda Bankers Association’s Operations Committee.
Kabeera has completed the CEO Apprenticeship Program of the CEO Summit Uganda as well as Strathmore University Business School and the University of Cape Town’s Africa Future Leaders and Emerging Leaders Programs. He is also a Consumer Banking Academy graduate.
He holds a Master of Business Administration -Finance and Accounting from Uganda Martyr’s University Nkozi and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Makerere University.
Flavia Nabukeera Kawuma
Head of Mobile Banking
Flavia Nabukeera is a Digital Financial Services Expert with over 12 years of experience in ideating and rolling out innovative solutions across a spectrum of industries, from banking to mobile money, fintech, telecom and academia.
In her role as product head, she led the scoping, designing and managing the end-to-end delivery of the mobile wallet as a platform. In addition, she worked with the bank’s leadership team to strategically plan its commercialisation and rollout, including the formation of the operational working teams and departments, identification and the customisation of the focal niche products like the group management and savings solutions and is overseeing the implementation of these strategies.
She describes herself as “very enthusiastic about innovative and inclusive financial solutions delivered through digital channels with an overall objective of fostering financial inclusion, harnessed through explorative avenues”.
With a strong technical background in computing and software engineering, she believes in harnessing the power of technology to deliver business value through robust, secure, and scalable systems.
Flavia holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (1st Class Honors) from Makerere University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management (1st Class Honors) from Uganda Management Institute and is currently pursuing an MBA with the University of East London, UK.
She was also recently recognized by HiPipo as one of the 2024 Top 40 Women Leaders under 40 pioneering change in FinTech and beyond.
John Paul Miiro
Head Change and Project Management Office
John Paul describes himself as “an enthusiastic and knowledgeable project management professional with experience in execution and delivery of key strategic projects.
His financial services and technology experience spans over a decade, with “demonstrated proficiency in leading project teams to successfully implement complex technology projects”.
His role on the Wendi Project was to “ensure that the project was delivered against the triple constraints of scope, schedule and budget while ensuring the high-quality standards were met”.
“Some of our key responsibilities included project planning, stakeholder engagement and negotiation, risk management, quality assurance, schedule management and change management while leading the high-performing exceptional project team and third-party providers to achieve a shared goal,” he says of his role.
His career journey began at AAR Health Services before joining Bank of Africa Uganda where he served for 6 years before joining PostBank as a Project Manager in 2021 and subsequently growing through the ranks to lead the Change and Project Management Office.
At PostBank, he has been instrumental in the formulation of the PMO and policies, procedures and frameworks that govern the management of the projects portfolio while significantly contributing to the Bank’s digital transformation journey.
John Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from Uganda Martyrs’ University, Nkozi and is currently pursuing an MBA from the Uganda Management Institute (UMI). He is also a certified Project Manager, proudly affiliated with the esteemed global Project Management Institute (PMI) and its Uganda Chapter.
Kasozi James
Head of Digitization & Innovation
Kasozi, has over 15 years of extensive experience in the banking sector, focusing on enterprise application development and financial messaging.
As the Overall Technical Lead, he was instrumental in the conceptualisation phase of the Wendi Mobile wallet and led the technical implementation of the Wendi Project.
He possesses a robust background in banking and enterprise application development, coupled with a specialized expertise in financial messaging.
James Kasozi received his BSc degree in Computer Science from Makerere University in Kampala.
Priscilla Akora
Head of Marketing and Communications
Priscilla Akora is a seasoned marketer and a communication specialist with over 12 years of experience in the field of marketing and communications, experience gathered majorly from the banking, and healthcare industry.
Priscilla has worked for and contributed to the growth of big brands which include but are not limited to PostBank, The Medical Concierge Group, ABSA Bank and KCB Bank.
Her role on the Wendi project started with defining the unnamed “baby” that was being developed by the various teams.
“I was given the exciting task of defining the name of the baby, what its logo would look like, its overall brand identity and how we would bring the baby to the market,” she recalls, adding: “As a marketer, working on this project has been one of the biggest highlights of my career. The thrill of bringing something from nothing, and turning it into a headlining product that is creating value for the ordinary Ugandan has been a truly humbling experience for me”.
She says, that at the core of brand development and the naming of the Wendi solution was the insight that this was a game changer that would enable more Ugandans to access financial services.
“Our product is easy to use, easy to join and the best part is that you can use Wendi even if you are not a customer of PostBank. That thinking even as the wallet was being designed heavily informed the name that we ultimately chose, its overall look and feel, as well as brand identity,” she says.
Priscilla led the in-house team that developed all the visual elements of Wendi, such as the colours and logo as well as the visual look of the app.
“Wendi literally means “I am here” and this speaks to our vision which is to have as many touch points in all areas in Uganda so that customers of Wendi can transact with ease no matter where they are,” she explains, the thinking behind the simple, yet powerful product name.
She further explains that although Wendi was developed by PostBank, it is an entirely separate brand and this explains why it is named Wendi, and why its primary colour is orange and why its logo is also different from PostBank.
“The explanation is quite simple. To access PostBank services, you must be a customer of PostBank. However, you do not need to hold an account at PostBank to use Wendi. With Wendi, your mobile number is literally your account number. You can carry out all your transactions without needing to open up a PostBank account. So regardless of whether you have an account in another bank, or whether you do not have a bank account at all, you can still transact using Wendi. To me, this is the real definition of financial inclusion. Having access to financial services reliably and sustainably,” she proudly reiterates.
“We launched Wendi last year, first with an announcement of our partnership with MTN in July and with Airtel in August. Officially we launched in November, and in less than 6 months we have won 2 awards, which to me is extraordinary. We brought home gold at the 2023 SilverBacks Awards for Best Customer Experience Programme 2023 and we also won best Banking Innovation Excellence (2023) at the Digital Impact Africa Awards,” she proudly says.
Priscilla holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Uganda Christian University, a Professional Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing – UK, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Uganda Martyrs University.