… set to benefit from synergy
Absa Bank Ghana is seeking to deepen its partnership and collaboration with the Business & Financial Times (B&FT) to better reach its key client segments through thought leadership events and related initiatives.
This will see both institutions leverage their combined expertise to deliver high-impact, industry-authority content and events for the domestic and global business community.
During a courtesy call on the management of B&FT, Nana Essilfuah Boison, Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations at Absa, emphasised the bank’s desire to engage more with B&FT’s influential audience through co-hosted events.
“For us, the question is ‘just how can we collaborate to do a lot more?’ ‘How do we bring our propositions, the good offerings that we have to your clients through partnership and collaboration with an institution such as yours?’ You are very credible. And therefore, we know collaborations with you will go a long way,” Ms. Boison stated.
She highlighted potential areas of collaboration like breakfast meetings, roundtables, and other initiatives tailored for Absa’s diverse client base spanning corporates, SMEs, investors, fund managers and retail customers.
“We have a gamut of areas that we can look at and collaborate, depending on also what your strategy is around breakfast meetings, table discussions,” she said.
Ms. Boison added that such partnerships would be “beneficial to our brand and your brand as well” in driving thought leadership and deepening connections with key clients.
Dr. Godwin Acquaye, CEO of B&FT, welcomed the opportunity for increased collaboration, saying: “We have a broad catalogue of platforms such as our quarterly roundtable, our CEO’s roundtable as well as the beloved newspaper and online portal, which, without a doubt are the most reliable sources of business information around.”
He highlighted B&FT’s upcoming major event, the Ghana Economic Forum (GEF) scheduled for August, as another potential area for partnership.
Stories that matter
For Absa, which transitioned from being Barclays Bank just four years ago, the focus is on entrenching the new brand while leveraging its solid operational foundations. This is especially visible with its ‘Your Story Matters’ campaigning which prioritises empathy and individual needs in its customer service approach.
As Ms. Boison noted, “In four years, we have done what both brands would not have done separately in four years. We have done a good job in four years in trying to win people to come along with the new brand with us. But our job is not over.”
She noted that the right partnerships are crucial for Absa to drive thought leadership and deepen client stickiness.
“We are very much aware. So, there’s still a lot of work for us to do to entrench the brand. And therefore, the right partnerships are key for us. Because then it helps to drive the thought leadership and the stickiness of our clients and our customers.”
The Absa Bank Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations also pointed to some of the bank’s upcoming client engagements including risk management product sessions for corporate and investor clients, as well as programmes focused on digitalization, innovation and business growth for SMEs. This comes as Asba recently launched a supplier finance programme connecting SME suppliers to its corporate clients.
