Interview with Certified Digital Finance Practitioner Student, Farouq Kakuru

Farouq is experiencing an illustrious career within banking. He began his career as a teller with Stanbic Bank, where he received several promotions due to his performance, and is now a Relationship Manager for Electronic Channels at Bank of Africa, Uganda. He has completed both the Certificate in Digital Money (CIDM) and Leading Digital Money Markets (LDMM) courses with Digital Frontiers Institute and is on track to complete his Certified Digital Finance Practitioner (CDFP) certification in 2021. The CIDM course was recommended to him by a manager, and he has already recommended the course to others due to its practical focus and discussion on current trends and ideas improving the lives of customers and communities. His move to Bank of Africa happened recently, and he is tasked with innovating solutions that will simplify customer experiences to fulfil customer needs. He attributes his confidence and ability to articulate well at the interview specifically to the knowledge he gained during CIDM.

He sees himself as a passionate, energetic and high-performance-orientated leader with a focus on customer-centricity. This current role is perfect for him, being able to build teams to deliver smooth client experiences, something he is passionate about. He loves to connect with people and enlighten himself with knowledge whenever the chance arises. This is why he’s been an active member of the Kampala Community of Practice and particularly enjoyed the discussions and different thoughts that were shared in the online campus whilst on the CIDM and LDMM course.

Farouq felt the added benefit of attending a COP is that it is where minds meet and share views on world trends and new solutions on the market and identify issues in our country that we can begin to change through the Digital Frontiers Association (DFA). The DFA is Uganda’s association for digital finance professionals, which was developed by members of the Kampala COP.

Farouq is always looking at ways to use digital methods to simplify work and give clients a better service. Since joining the Bank of Africa, he has transformed the onboarding process for internet banking from an 8-hour to an almost instant process, which has led to an impressive growth in sign-ups from 200 clients a month to 1,500, and this figure is still growing. It has also led to a 30% growth in transactions, which also increased revenue, and this growth is only going to continue to increase.

Looking to the future, Farouq plans to become a leader in the digital finance space in Uganda and wants to work with his DFA colleagues to influence decisions, speed up digitalisation of the country, and move towards a cashless economy. He would also like to contribute to creating a scoring system to make credit more accessible and to improve the simplicity of obtaining and using identification.

He leaves us with some final thoughts about digitalisation and change. Banks used to have numerous tellers in branches, and now, together with developments such as ATMs, cash deposit machines, and internet banking, his old branch now has just two tellers. He believes the role of the teller may become obsolete in the near future, as “the world is evolving so fast. Only people who can adapt will remain relevant. It will take a change in mindset and acquiring new skills to enable you to be relevant and sought after in this era.” Are you ready to take on this fruitful journey to becoming CDFP certified?

Thank you for taking the time to share your journey with us, Farouq, and we look forward to being able to award you with your CDFP certification in 2021!

 

By Sarah Corley
Former Divisional Director at Digital Frontiers
Digital Frontiers Institute Alum

 

Learn more about our Certified Digital Finance Practitioner programme.