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This means we can be incredibly flexible and move at lightning speed . I ' ve seen decisions made that change the course of the business in an hour and a half meeting , and then be implemented immediately after , which is not something that companies usually do when they get beyond a certain size ,” comments Custers .
“ A word that often comes up when you read about Backbase is ‘ love ’, because our credo is ‘ become the bank that people love ’, and our mission is to get 10 % of the people in the world using Backbase as their engagement banking platform . This is infused into the way that every one of us at Backbase thinks . We don ' t just care about our banking customers , we also care about the customers experiences , whether they are consumers , businesses or large corporations . Our CEO and founder Jouk Pleiter is testament to how well this company has been built . It ' s filled with energy and passion , even though we ' re growing so quickly ."
Tech Companies Disrupting the African Financial Services Sector “ Africa is an interesting space ,” says Custers . “ I believe true innovation is born out of constraint , it doesn ’ t often happen in a vacuum . If there is nothing forcing it , it is seldom able to accelerate . The first world has historically benefitted from a lot of technology and connectivity infrastructure . In my opinion , that means that technology in financial services has innovated and evolved at a linear pace .” In Africa , Custers explains that the limitations can often seem overwhelming . “ Internet connectivity is still very low and unemployment is very high , in some countries over 30 %. It ’ s these constraints , coupled with a really deep entrepreneurial spirit of the African people , that are driving non-traditional players to dominate innovation in financial services , by doing things that often leapfrog what you ’ ll see in the developed world .”
Some of the examples of this come from financial services , technology and telecommunication collaborations . “ Often spoken about is M-PESA in Kenya , as a
“ I believe true innovation is born out of constraint ; it doesn ’ t often happen in a vacuum . If there is nothing forcing it , it is seldom able to accelerate ”
HEIDI CUSTERS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DIRECTOR , BACKBASE
90 October 2021