Changes To Expect From Absa Other Than The Name And Colour

There is a new baby in town, Absa Bank of Kenya which was until February 18, 2020, Barclays Bank of Kenya and has now been rebranded in one of the most colorful events the corporate industry is yet to witness.

Absa Bank of Kenya joined twelve other countries under one umbrella in Africa in the ceremony that kicked off in the wee hours of Wednesday, 19^th February 2020, at the NSE headquarters and went up to past midnight at the KICC.

Past the glitz and the glamour is an interesting change of business tac that will see Absa diversify service delivery in the industry through a number of innovative technologies, attitudes, and mindsets.

Absa bank Kenya which was established in 1916 as Barclays bank of Kenya traded at the Nairobi Stocks Exchange (NSE) as from 1986 and will now be trading as Absa.

New Name, Color, Products Attitudes And Decades Of Experience In Fresh-Looking Absa

Absa has its eyes set on widening its net to the expansive MSME sector as it audits its strategy following the rebranding exercise.

“For me, it’s about placing the customer at the center of what we are doing. We have three million salaried people versus over 10 million entrepreneurs running businesses and creating jobs,” Absa Kenya Managing Director Jeremy Awori said.

“The new Absa bank is not just about a fresh color and name, it’s about a freshening of attitudes and mindsets,” Charles Muchene, the Chairman Board of Absa Bank Kenya PLC said.

“Barclays was the first Kenyan bank to have an African manager, Peter Nyakiamo, in 1963, the first female supervisor, Agatha Obare in 1973 and the first African woman as Branch Manager in the continent, Mary Okello, in 1977 ensuring gender parity in the industry,” Muchene said.

“Absa Kenya brings with it a fresh delivery of services to Kenyans and all our clients that will follow the launch with a number of products that will ease service delivery,” Jeffrey Odundo said.

“We offer the best mortgage at 11.7 percent and working to soon introduce The Absa chat that will enable our customers to easily get their queries sorted online,” Jeffrey Odundo revealed.

“My SME toolkit which is designed to ensure our clients have easy cash flow and financial management will soon follow the launch of Absa Bank Kenya,” Jeffrey added.

Absa has recently been developing micro-business focused products to accommodate MSMEs which include the expansion of its Wezesha SME proposition to accommodate unsecured loans of up to Ksh.10 million.

Absa also offers SMEs local purchase order (LPO) financing & invoice discounting to ease their financial management practices.

Absa also has in place its first mobile application Timiza which enables its customers to easily solve their queries without having to visit banks physically or hold on to calls waiting to serve.

Absa comes as a package with a number of new inventions that will include the launch of a business cash-flow management tool and the upgrading of the Absa mobile banking application to impact better service delivery.

“We’ve been able to deliver consistently while growing our top line and controlling our cost base and impairments,” Jeremy Awori noted adding that he expects the bank to continue anchoring down value for invested shareholders.

“It is critical that ABSA Kenya rises to these challenges with a sense of responsibility that encompasses its 104 years heritage,” the Central Bank of Kenya said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Absa Bank, formerly Barclays Bank of Kenya, prides of 86 branches and 212 Automated Teller Machines in 38 counties in Kenya and branches with a strong footing in 12 countries in Africa.

READ: Barclays Bank Kenya Paints Nairobi Red To Become ABSA Kenya