BACKBASE
Backbase ’ s Heidi Custers discusses the acceleration of digital transformation , the unvalued innovative mindset of Africa , and its growing FinTech industry
2003
Year founded
1,500 +
Number of employees
120 +
Financial institutions around the world powered by Backbase
Joining Backbase at the start of 2021 , Heidi Custers is the Digital Transformation Director for Middle East and Africa at Backbase ; an Amsterdam based software company and creator of the Engagement Banking Platform ( EBP ).
“ I moved here at the beginning of 2021 from South Africa , where for most of my career I ’ ve worked in digital , focusing on banking and telecommunications . From an African perspective , that ’ s quite important because the convergence of those two industries are actually driving much of the innovation on the continent . So even though I now live in Europe , my focus is still on digital transformation in Africa ,” says Custers .
Prior to joining Backbase , she worked at Deloitte as the Digital Transformation Strategy Lead for Africa “ My experience of working with big banks , insurers , and telcos across the African continent has driven my interest in the FinTech industry . Tech companies are really driving the acceleration of innovation in financial services ” she adds .
Founded in 2003 – Backbase is a digitally native company that has made a massive impact in just two decades . “ I ' ve been following this company for over 10 years now , watching it with interest . Backbase has evolved into an end-to-end engagement banking platform . If you take the jargon out of it , that means we work with banks to help them transform the digital layer that their customers engage with , whether that be a web or mobile application , to become completely seamless . We enable customers