Finastra has announced plans to deliver a range of initiatives which enable its customers to accelerate through change, as well as creating positive outcomes for millions of people around the world. The move is part of the company's ongoing innovation and open cloud platform strategy. Finastra and its customers are set to positively impact over nine million lives around the world, through technology and collaboration. Key areas of focus in the Middle East and Africa include: 1 The SME funding gap – Finastra is piloting a revolutionary microfinance initiative, Trust Machine, in Kenya. Together with partners in data, financial literacy, blockchain and scenario modelling, the resulting loan and balance sheet optimization solution aims to reduce the $19bn funding gap by 1% in the country which could potentially create 50,000 new jobs to encourage sustainable economic growth. 2 Serving customers through change • Ecobank recently connected 34 African countries with a unified cash management system, powered by Finastra. In three months, Ecobank processed approximately $75 million in transaction volumes for Covid-19 relief funds to citizens, through Fusion Cash Management. • In Zimbabwe, through Fusion Digital, ZB Financial Holdings' client base has increased to 400,000 as of 30 June 2020. Its goal is to create a sustainable and affordable digital banking ecosystem to serve at least 4 million clients by 2025. • Moroccan-based commercial bank, CIH Bank recently digitized its end-to-end corporate banking services, providing corporate customers with access to services online, rather than in-branch – a requirement that became even more apparent with the pandemic. • United Arab Bank, a UAE-based bank, has transformed and unified its wholesale banking channel to offer services to corporate customers. Fusion Corporate Channels and Fusion Cash Management will unify trade, supply chain finance and cash management, and will provide an integrated platform for lending and treasury services for corporate clients. Wissam Khoury, head of international at Finastra said, "The pandemic has brought the future forward, driving increased demand for digital transformation in the financial services sector. We're committed to helping our customers accelerate through this change with our technology and ecosystem. This is also a pivotal moment in which we have the chance to redefine finance for good and create new solutions that put better outcomes for society at the center." Erika Baumann, senior wholesale banking analyst, Aite Group said, "COVID-19 has forced a global rethink for many organizations, accelerating the need for solutions that positively impact lives, businesses and communities. Initiatives like Finastra's Trust Machine, which pull together ecosystem expertise to tackle bigger problems such as inequality and poverty, are just one way that industry is reshaping itself for better outcomes." Finastra's broad technology product set across lending, payments, treasury and retail banking is powering these initiatives, alongside its FusionFabric.cloud open developer platform. It is all underpinned by a comprehensive suite of data-driven insights applications to improve business intelligence; and a suite of transformational services designed to help customers successfully accelerate through change. — SG
