I&M Bank, on July 29th 2025, launched its Tukikube ne I&M Bank campaign—a bold, culture-rooted brand movement aimed at energising its relationship with Ugandan consumers, particularly the dynamic SME sector.
The launch, hosted at Kampala Serena Hotel, was more than an event. It was a manifestation of what happens when a bank aligns product, purpose, and people—and puts marketing at the heart of business transformation.
In Uganda’s brand-cluttered financial services space, I&M Bank is quietly emerging as a masterclass in brand-led growth.
Central to this evolution is a deliberate shift in how marketing is viewed—not as an afterthought, but as a strategic growth engine.
That thinking has found powerful expression under Annette Nakiyaga, the bank’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications.
Her marketing stewardship has been instrumental in repositioning I&M as a bold, youthful, customer-first brand.
And it has flourished under the enabling leadership of Robin Bairstow, the bank’s CEO, whose first full year at the helm has already delivered record financial performance, cultural clarity, and executional speed.
A cultural reset meets a commercial agenda
When I&M Group acquired Orient Bank in 2021, it came with a promise of reinvention.
But as Bairstow explains, “Our priority wasn’t just infrastructure or capital—it was people. If you’re going to do anything big, align the team first.”
This cultural integration under the PAMOJA initiative created a unified platform on which a new brand personality took root.
It also gave space for Nakiyaga’s marketing function to thrive – not just with budgets, but with belief.
“The story of this brand is not just about slogans,” says Nakiyaga.
“It’s about embedding ourselves where Ugandans live, hustle, and celebrate – whether that’s at a golf course, in a market, or on a podcast.”
And that’s precisely what Tukikube ne I&M Bank embodies – a brand that vibes with its customers, not just advertises to them.
The marketing leader behind the movement
At the heart of I&M Bank’s rising brand equity is Annette Nakiyaga, a seasoned marketing leader whose fingerprints can be found on every major campaign that has elevated the bank’s public profile since 2022.
Tukikube ne I&M Bank is the latest in a string of high-impact campaigns that have repositioned the bank from a relatively quiet player to a confident, visible, and emotionally resonant brand in Uganda’s financial sector.
A former premium brands strategist at Uganda Breweries (Diageo), Nakiyaga brought to I&M Bank not just expertise, but vision.
Since taking the reins as Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications, she has steered the development of a marketing function that is not only creative but commercially strategic.
Her portfolio of successful campaigns speaks volumes:
- The I&M Bank @50 Campaign, which celebrated the Group’s half-century milestone, was not just a celebration—it was named Marketing Campaign of the Year 2024, a testament to its reach, creative execution, and alignment with business goals.
- Nyumirwa Breaktime, a lifestyle-driven brand initiative, successfully humanised the bank and helped shift public perception from a corporate institution to a relatable, everyday financial partner.
- Strategic brand partnerships with iconic institutions such as the Kabaka Foundation (Kabaka Run, Queen’s Ball), Real Madrid Foundation, and the Katogo Golf Series have given the brand both cultural depth and aspirational appeal.
- A sustained focus on digital relevance, including influencer partnerships, SEO-optimised campaigns, and mobile-first activations, has brought younger audiences into the I&M fold.
Tukikube ne I&M Bank builds on this foundation. But it does more than raise awareness – it aims to change outcomes.
“This campaign is not about airtime or banners. It’s about impact,” Nakiyaga says. “We want to walk the journey with SMEs – from access to tools, to financial literacy, to real, usable products.”
Crucially, Nakiyaga’s work goes beyond aesthetics. She has restructured marketing as a value-driving function – working hand-in-hand with product teams, relationship managers, and digital transformation units to ensure every campaign ladders up to commercial performance.
Crucially, her workmates understand the impact she has had on the I&M brand.
“She’s not just leading marketing,” one executive at the bank remarked. “She’s leading business relevance.”
But, Nakiyaga is quick to point back to the leadership environment created by CEO Robin Bairstow.
“What we have at I&M Bank is a unique executive alignment. Marketing isn’t fighting for relevance – it’s invited to lead from the front. That makes all the difference.”
As the Tukikube campaign enters full swing, Nakiyaga continues to embody a rare blend of creative intuition and business acumen.
In an era where many banks treat marketing as support, I&M Bank is proving that brand leadership can drive business leadership.
A CEO who puts marketing at the centre
At I&M Bank, marketing is not just a support function—it’s a strategic pillar deeply integrated into leadership thinking.
This is largely because Bairstow doesn’t just approve campaigns—he champions them.
His approach is intentional and people-centered, ensuring that every brand move reflects the aspirations of the institution and the energy of its people.
“We need to be seen; people need to visualise and see the vision in our brand that we have of ourselves,” Bairstow told CEO East Africa Magazine in a previous interview.
“Our brand DNA is young. Yes, as a brand, we have a great past, but we’re not looking back. We’re looking forward with vigour. We want to do fun and exciting things.”
Indeed, since taking the helm, Bairstow has steered the bank into non-traditional territory – sports, entertainment, community causes – all to bring the brand to life in meaningful, memorable ways.
“We want to be a bunch of fit, inspired, and ready-to-go people, for that’s what our brand represents,” he said, explaining then the bank’s growing presence in corporate football, swimming galas, and beyond.
But Bairstow’s belief in marketing goes far deeper than campaigns or events.
He sees culture and customer experience as marketing in action.
That is why, as part of the Group-wide PAMOJA initiative, he invested heavily in harmonizing culture across legacy Orient Bank staff, new hires, and I&M Group professionals.
“That cultural change gave us a common set of behaviours and values to rally around,” he said.
“We were all singing from the same hymn sheet, which is important, for if you’re going to do anything big, the people asset that’s going to do it for you… is the asset that you need to focus on more.”
Marketing, for Bairstow, is about storytelling with substance, grounded in product excellence and customer-centric innovation.
That’s why he pushed for rapid technology upgrades that would enable the delivery of a more seamless and modern customer experience.
“Behind all of that is the goal of making it easier for the customer to bank with us,” he said.
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This clarity of vision and unapologetic belief in marketing as a leadership tool has given I&M Bank’s marketing team the license to dream bigger—and deliver bolder.
It has also created the space for marketing leaders like Nakiyaga to thrive, resulting in a consistent run of high-impact campaigns that have redefined the bank’s visibility and customer engagement.
From the lifestyle-driven Nyumirwa Breaktime, to the culturally rooted Kabaka Run partnership, to the award-winning I&M @50 celebration, and now the vibrant Tukikube ne I&M Bank campaign, each initiative reflects a brand growing in confidence, voice, and cultural relevance.
Together, they embody Bairstow’s call for a brand that is “young… looking forward with vigour,” and grounded in authenticity, empathy, and everyday relevance.
Bairstow’s impact is not just felt in the boardroom – it’s written all over the numbers.
In just one year at the helm, I&M Bank’s total assets surged past the symbolic trillion mark, closing 2024 at UGX 1.1 trillion.
Net profit rose by an impressive 76% year-on-year to UGX 20.3 billion, the bank’s strongest performance to date.
Lending activity accelerated, with the loan book expanding 35.2% to UGX 406.9 billion, while customer deposits rose steadily by 10.1% to UGX 757.4 billion.
Equally telling is the bank’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), a direct measure of customer advocacy, which jumped from 53+ to 63+, marking the bank’s highest leap ever.
These aren’t just financial milestones; they are brand milestones, shaped by a leadership philosophy that blends vision, agility, and customer obsession.
But behind these impressive metrics lies a more strategic truth: Bairstow didn’t just enable marketing—he made it central to the bank’s turnaround.
By elevating marketing from a support role to a strategic engine, he has helped I&M Bank not only win in the market but also win the hearts and minds of the people it serves.
“Robin has not just given us space; he gave us a seat at the executive table,” says Nakiyaga.
From event to ecosystem: The Tukikube Campaign in action
The campaign, whose name loosely translates to “Let’s ride together,” is purpose-built to address one of the most persistent challenges facing Ugandan SMEs: financial literacy.
Through this initiative, I&M Bank is not merely offering products—it is building capacity, creating platforms, and showing up in places where SMEs need real, hands-on support.
At the centre of the campaign is a financial literacy podcast series to be broadcast on the I&M Bank YouTube channel.
These recorded episodes will spotlight real-life stories of SME resilience, featuring entrepreneurs who have successfully scaled their businesses, often with the backing of the bank.
The series seeks to inspire, inform, and practically guide other SMEs through relatable lessons and accessible financial know-how.
But Tukikube doesn’t stop at content. The campaign has rolled out tangible, business-enabling offers—chief among them, a vehicle financing partnership with Victoria Motors Limited.
Entrepreneurs can now acquire robust, brand-new pickup trucks for their operations with a monthly repayment of just UGX 3.2 million, making asset acquisition more feasible than ever before.
“It’s the kind of vehicle that can take you to the garden, the funeral, and even church. It is ideal for business owners,” Victoria Motors’ Deputy GM Emmanuel Muyunga says.
The campaign also extends to market storms—grassroots activations in real business communities, where I&M Bank teams meet SMEs on their turf to listen, learn, and co-create solutions.
“We understand that partnership means showing up,” said Edward Gibson Nangono, the bank’s Chief Business Officer.
“We’ll be where you are, listening to your challenges, and working with you and your stakeholders to co-create solutions for your businesses.”
This hands-on approach is backed by compelling financial incentives.
Bairstow reaffirmed the bank’s resolve to serve SMEs more meaningfully, announcing reduced interest rates of up to 18% on 12-month loans and offering loan buyouts without arrangement fees.
This seeks to remove cost-related barriers for businesses seeking growth.
For Nakiyaga, Tukikube is not just about brand visibility; it’s about national development.
“Supporting SMEs is not just about individual business growth,” she said.
“It’s about fostering economic resilience and job creation in our country. By empowering businesses, we contribute to stronger communities and a more vibrant economy.”
Importantly, the campaign is not a flash-in-the-pan activation.
Designed to run over 12 months, Tukikube is structured as a sustained engagement ecosystem—anchored in education, financing, and relationship-building.
Its endgame: to reduce SME mortality, inspire innovation, and position I&M Bank as the most relevant and responsive banking partner in the market.
Brand as a growth strategy
The transformation at I&M Bank offers a compelling case study for how brand can be wielded—not as decoration, but as a deliberate lever for business growth, customer loyalty, and cultural relevance.
Under the strategic leadership of Bairstow, marketing has become more than just a department; it is a leadership philosophy, a growth engine, and a cultural compass.
Bairstow didn’t just give marketing a seat at the table—he made it central to the bank’s turnaround.
And in Nakiyaga, the bank found not just a marketing lead, but a growth partner—someone who fuses creative intuition with business acumen to turn campaigns into conversions and visibility into value.
This executive synergy—clear vision from the top and bold execution from the frontlines—has turned a relatively quiet bank into one of Uganda’s most exciting financial brands.
Every campaign is part of a bigger picture: a bank that is youthful, responsive, inclusive, and unmistakably present.
In a banking sector often driven by rates, branches, and product parity, I&M Bank is proving that a brand done right is a powerful differentiator.
And with a trillion-shilling balance sheet, record profits, and rising customer advocacy to show for it, it’s clear: marketing is not just telling the I&M story—it’s helping write its future.
