A retired Ivorian soccer star, Didier Drogba, was drafted as a “digital bank ambassador” on social media. Fifteen months later, more than 18,000 of his compatriots have signed up for digital-only accounts, outstripping the London-based lender’s early targets.
Ivory Coast is just one of 60 countries where StanChart operates. What might please StanChart boss Bill Winters even more than new customers in a market where it had minimal presence is how little it cost to get them in a time of soaring IT costs for banks.
The project was completed in nine months, using in-house technology, working off an existing banking license.
The Ivorian template was followed in Uganda, where the digital bank led to an eight-fold increase in new account openings, and in Tanzania, more new customers have signed up so far this year than in the whole of 2018.
Back in London, Drogba is reported to be mulling a return to Chelsea Football Club, and Winters, whose bank sponsors northern rivals Liverpool, must reach an ambitious profitability target with help from countries like Ivory Coast.
African and Middle East markets account for just a fifth of StanChart’s revenue, but they offer the CEO some of his best opportunities.
Article culled from Bloomberg
