26 | The Lion King
Growing the Seed
keeps changing. As the GMD
said in one of his memos to us,
“change is a constant”, our abil-
ity to adapt is therefore a must.
United Bank for Africa is commit-
ted to engineering growth and
development through financial
intermediation in Africa and has
aptly demonstrated the willing-
ness and capacity to support
major development projects
across the continent. How well is
UBA Cameroon tapping into the
Group’s capacity to finance big
ticket transactions?
One of our strength as I said is
our Group and we do leverage
on it and intend to do more.
We have had group support in
different ways. Most of our large
ticket deals are supported by
the group’s balance sheet with-
out which we would not have
been able to finance. We have
also leveraged on the expertise
in areas like Oil and Gas where
we have tapped into the group
to provide solutions to some of
our key customers. We recently
had the privilege to host the
GMD and a team of group
executives who came to provide
visible support to us and renew
our commitment to support the
Economy, the businesses and
the staff. We have enjoyed the
group support and are eager
to see even more support in the
future. I believe that the more
we interact and exchange with
the group, the more we close
the gaps and improve on the
alignment which is key to busi-
ness efficiency and results.
How are you leveraging modern
electronic and mobile banking
technology to enhance your
customers’ banking experience
and how is this impacting on
your bottom-line?
We were the first bank to intro-
duce the e-alerts in Cameroon
and today we are glad to see
many banks following us. We
are still the only bank with an
online-real time internet bank-
ing solution, although we are
not yet transacting outside of
UBA. We are the first bank in the
whole CEMAC region to have a
license to operate Visa Prepaid
Card from the Central Bank. We
are the first bank to successfully
implement an online registration
coupled with dual purpose visa
prepaid/student cards for the
50,000 Students of University of
Douala. In general the customer
experience has been very posi-
tive, despite a few hiccups from
time to time. The impact on our
bottom line is also very positive
and will continue to grow. This
is the future of banking and we
have given ourselves a target to
bring E-banking contribution to
our revenues from the current 4%
to 10% by the end of the year.
What are your personal views
on Consumer Banking and the
future of banking in Cameroon?
Consumer banking is key for the
institution because it does guar-
antee stable resources, stable
customers, stable revenues and
stable returns. It is key for an
economy because it is the only
way to ensure financial inclusion.
Cameroon is a 20 million popu-
lation Country with about 12%
banking penetration and 13
banks. This means there is still
a lot of room for banking inclu-
sion (despite the large number
of micro finance institutions)
and we believe it does start
with consumer banking. We
must however adapt it to to-
day’s environment and realities,
bringing electronic and virtual
channels in support of our con-
sumer banking play. I believe in
tailored offerings and solutions
for different segments/types of
customers and a great level of
focus. Our Relationship Offic-
ers were often expected to sell
everything to everybody, lead-
ing to a lot of energy dissipation
without the appropriate results.
The SBU structure that is being
implemented is a great way
forward and I have no doubt it
will assist in positioning us as the
consumer bank for Cameroon.
What is the economic outlook
for Cameroon vis-à-vis its coun-
try peers?
Cameroon’s economic outlook
is positive with a GDP of about
5% compared to an average of
below 5% for the CEMAC region.
The country remains the largest
economy of the region. Cam-
eroon and Gabon are the only
2 countries that have met all
the convergence criteria in the
recently released report on the
UEMOA and CEMAC zones, fol-
lowing the meeting by the min-
isters of finances of the countries
in Dakar in April 2013. Cameroon
was the only one in last year’s
report. This is a sign of good fis-
cal discipline and positions the
country as a good destination
for investors, despite challenges
that always exist.
What is your approach to lead-
ership; how do you keep your
team motivated to achieve
results?
I listen, I communicate, I’m
available and accessible to
everyone, from drivers, cleaners,
security guards to EXCO mem-
bers; I consult and I engage
before making decisions. I’m in-
volved in all the fights alongside
my colleagues. I try to explain
even the most difficult positions.
I try to know my customers, know
my staff and know my business.
I engage personally with key
stakeholders in the country. And
I try to live the core values of
UBA.
How do you achieve a healthy
work life balance considering
the pressure and demands on
the job?
That is a tough one because I
don’t think I’m good at that. My
family and friends have given
up! It is however not a good
example to follow because I be-
lieve strongly in the importance
of work life balance. I think each
person has his/her own way of
striking that balance. I’m willing
to learn how to improve on that.
we want to continue to do
the things we have done
right but we want to be
closer to our customers,
and deepen our retail
banking play.”
