Digitization of banks and financial institutions has taken the African continent by storm, especially in emerging markets such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, which are considered the hotbed of innovation in the region. This comes at an opportune time to drive financial inclusion when 57% of the population does not have a formal bank account, yet 75% own mobile phones.

However, are African institutions adapting fast enough to keep pace with market changes? Statistics show that nearly 50% of banks do not upgrade their old IT systems as soon as they should. Replacing IT infrastructure or core banking systems can be extremely expensive and time-consuming, especially when adopting a rip and replace method, that’s why today’s forward-thinking organizations are turning to component-based models and APIs.

Following today’s best practices such as APIs can fast-track your time to market for new products and services while lowering cost and maintenance inconveniences. Our latest whitepaper, “Speed by Design : How to build innovation into your bank,” addresses this subject in detail, outlining the essence of innovating quickly, the roadmap to digitization for incumbents and startups, as well as the role of FinTechs in their digitization endeavors