Grace Muliisa was appointed as Managing Director of Ecobank Uganda, in September 2021, with a brief to spearhead the bank’s transformation and “better align it to the market needs for a better, faster and more consistent customer banking experience”.
Ecobank Uganda is part of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of the Ecobank Group, a leading pan-African banking Group, headquartered in Lomé, Togo. The Ecobank Group employs about 14,000 people and serves over 32 million across 35 countries on the continent. The Group also operates a banking license in France and has representative offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Beijing, China; London, the UK and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
“In Uganda, we are building a different kind of bank. A bank that takes time to understand its customers’ aspirations and ambitions and will walk beside the customer along that journey. We are building a bank that takes every customer’s feedback as an opportunity to learn and do better,” says Ms. Muliisa.
“We are building a bank that learns quickly and will strive each passing day to make sure our customers get the best experience from us every time and all the time,” she told CEO East Africa Magazine in an online interview.
She says that over the last couple of months, the bank has also been working hard to strengthen customer value propositions across its three key customer segments.
”We deliver services through three customer-deliver through three focused business segments i.e. Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking and Corporate and Investment Banking including public and NGO sectors. Our customers include individuals, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), local, regional and international corporates, governments, and financial institutions,” she explains.
She also says that the bank has heavily invested in digitisation over the years, transforming the way it serves customers across the different segments.
“Our digital strategy is aimed at solving for the rapidly changing ways that consumers and entities are demanding to engage with their bank,” Ms. Muliisa says, adding: “We aim to deliver banking services and solutions to our customers, where they are, at their point of need and at a price point that they can afford”.
“OMNI Ecobank, our unique internet banking portal serves our corporate and investment clients, as well as commercial clients. Ecobank Online and Mobile Application, which was recently upgraded and “Rafiki” – a banking assistant on-the-go for consumer customers, are some of the bespoke offerings designed to cater for customers as they evolve over their lifetime horizon,” she further explains.
Rapid Transfer, Ecobank’s own pan-African remittance service which operates in-branch, with sub-agents online and on the mobile phone is another proposition that is uniquely Ecobank, that further emphasises the level of investment in Ecobank’s innovation and commitment to serve the customer conveniently and cost-effectively.
A pan-African bank with extensive Ugandan knowledge
The bank will be celebrating 15 years in Uganda this year.
“As the Pan African bank established across 35 states across Africa, with a total capital base of USD2.7 billion, we are well-enabled to deliver sound banking and financial services with ease across the continent and more specifically Uganda. Our strong capital base enables us to support single-client financial Intermediation of up to USD160 million,” she adds.
She also reckons that Ecobank’s vast presence on the African continent affords Ecobank a unique advantage to “connect Uganda to the rest of Africa right from West, South, Central, South and East Africa”.
The bank is present in all 7 East African countries i.e, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The Group’s might has also opened vast trade corridors connecting Uganda to the rest of the world through representative offices in Paris, London, Dubai, and Beijing. Across the operations, customers have access to one digital bank regardless of their geographical location, which is the true spirit of Pan Africanism wherever you go, you will be welcomed with a smile,” she says.
She explains that while in Uganda, Ecobank’s presence is predominantly in Kampala and greater Kampala, the bank also has a presence in Jinja and Mbarara with fully-fledged branch services. The branch network is currently complemented by 325 Ecobank Express points. Additionally, the bank is part of the Agency Banking proposition, hence providing banking services through over 18,000 agents countrywide through the Agency Banking Company of Uganda.
“In Uganda, we aspire to be the bank of choice for the emerging affluent, facilitating trade, investment and driving economic growth,” Muliisa says adding that this vision feeds into the Group’s global vision to “build a world-class pan-African Bank that contributes to the economic development and financial integration of Africa through the provision of convenient and reliable financial products and services”.
Pan-African experience; local knowledge
To deliver this promise, Muliisa has spent the past 12 months assembling a team of experienced senior and middle-level bankers to deliver on this promise.
“One of the key hallmarks of Ecobank is that while the financial might of the Group and pan-African experience provides the necessary foundation to deliver on our promise, the real difference lies in the vast experience and great understanding of the business landscape by the teams on the ground,” she says.
“That is why we have spent a considerable amount of time to put together a very knowledgeable team that will leverage their understanding of the market and those of our customers to create tailor-made products and services that will propel our customers to excel,” she says.
Ms. Muliisa herself is a seasoned banking professional with over 20 years of executive management experience in the banking sector, across Africa and Asia, working for some of the largest banks. She is a tried and tested leader with a track record of championing change, driving strategy, and building a high-performance culture. She brings a wealth of experience in retail and commercial banking, credit and operational risk management, business banking and digital transformation among others.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Makerere University, Uganda and is currently pursuing a CMBA from Bangor Business School. She has also completed several leadership and management courses with INSEAD Business School in Singapore.
Joining Muliisa on the bank’s senior management team is Owen Tusiime who joined the bank in April 2022 as Chief Finance Officer.
Mr. Tusiime is a finance expert with key strengths in strategy formulation and implementation, financial planning and budget preparation, finance operations, stakeholder and external relations, people management, tax and regulatory reporting, financial controls and financial reporting, capital management as well as investor relations management.
Before Ecobank, he worked at Stanbic Bank in various roles- including Corporate Investment Banking- Business Planning and Analysis, Manager MIS & Enablement, and Manager Change & Enablement. He also worked as Business Finance Manager at Standard Chartered Bank, before rejoining Stanbic Bank as Finance and Value Manager, Cost and Corporate Function and then as Head, Financial Controls and Business Transformation.
He holds an MBA, in Strategic Planning from the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University and a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Finance) from Makerere University. He is also a Chartered Accountant of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Timothy Kiyimba, an experienced Retail banker with over 16 years of banking experience, also joined Ecobank in April 2022 as the Head of Consumer Banking. He brings on board, strong product development, marketing, customer service, digital banking and business analytics skills. Prior to joining Ecobank, he worked at Standard Chartered Bank as the Head of Retail Products and at Stanbic Bank as Head of Lending- Client Solutions. He also worked for four years at British American Tobacco as the Support Services Manager- Supply Chain.
Amongst other qualifications, Kiyimba, holds a Makerere University Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Statistics and Economics.
Also joining the bank’s senior management team is Nakhayenze Hope Lorna. She joined the bank in July 2022 as the Head of Risk and Internal Control. She has over 14 years of experience having worked in senior roles at Stanbic Bank Uganda, Hima Cement, Barclays Bank Uganda, and Deloitte & Touché. Before joining Ecobank, she was the Head of Risk at I&M Bank Uganda and Head of Operational Risk at Stanbic Bank before that.
She holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree (Hons) from Makerere University and is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK. She also holds a Certificate in International Treasury Management from the Association of Corporate Treasurers, UK.
Leading the people management function at the bank is Gloria Nalubowa as the Head of Human Resources. She joined the bank in March 2022.
Ms. Nalubowa has over 16 years of experience in human capital management with key skills in People processes and structures, Performance Management, Leadership Development, Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Planning. Before Ecobank, her most immediate role was Senior Human Capital Business Partner at Stanbic Bank. Before that, she also worked at Equity Bank and the Mara Group. She joined Ecobank as the Head of Human Resources in March 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) Degree from Makerere and a certified Coach with CMA and is currently pursuing an MBA from the University of Suffolk.
Luyima Hellen joined the bank in March 2022 as Head of Corporate Coverage but was in September 2022 elevated to the Ag. Head, Commercial Banking. She is an experienced Senior Corporate Banker with 19 years of work experience of which 14 years are in corporate banking. She possesses vast knowledge and experience in debt financing, commercial banking, trade finance, structured trade finance, financial and credit analysis, transactional banking, good client relations and wide banking experience providing reliable judgment of banking opportunities and client solutions.
Luyima previously worked at Standard Chartered Bank where she served in various roles, rising from Head of Cash Management Services, to become the Head of Local Corporates, Commodity Traders, and Agri-Business. She also worked for UAP Old Mutual as an Independent Insurance Sales Agent, before joining Ecobank in March 2022. She holds a B.A Social Sciences Degree from Makerere University.
Monica Acirocan Rotich is the bank’s Head of Credit. She has over 14 years of banking experience, 8 of which is in credit risk management in Uganda and within the Ecobank Group. Her key competencies include managing the credit risk associated with lending, transactional banking, trading, and investments.
She holds a Master’s degree in Economic Policy Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Development Economics both from Makerere University Kampala.
Patrick Mayanja is the bank’s Head of Audit. He is an entrepreneurial and business-oriented executive, with over 12 years of Senior Management experience in transforming organisations.
He is agile and experienced in enabling Change, Continuous Improvement, Risk Management, Internal Audit, Operations control, business process re-engineering, project management, Financial Management, Analytics, and people development. He has worked with organizations in London (UK) and Commercial banks in Uganda. He is a certified Account and holds a master’s degree from Anglia Ruskin University – Cambridge (UK).
Ecobank, whose pride and backbone is digitization, has also attracted Robert Jjagwe as the bank’s Ag. Head of Operations and Technology to head its digitisation agenda. He brings a wealth of expertise to this area with 20+ years of banking experience in and beyond the continent. His experience cuts across technology, operations, and product development, solutioning and commercialisation.
He is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (Uk) (FACCA), and he holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Commerce from Makerere University.
“We believe, with the refreshed bank strategy, compelling customer value propositions, significant investment in digitization, coupled with the diversity of team and the strength of the Group network, Ecobank Uganda is well positioned to go for more,” concludes Muliisa.