Research done by McKinsey& Company a global management consulting firm revealed that clients who used digital platforms were 33% happier than those who used the traditional means of banking. Given the current circumstances, people should strongly embrace banking from the comfort of their homes.
“It does not matter where you are. Whether you are deep down in Kalangala or some other place, you should be able to deposit and or withdraw from your account through your mobile wallet. If it’s an investment club, you should be able to withdraw some of your savings, deposit or get a soft loan without any difficulty,” remarked Percy A. Muganza, the Head of Data Analytics at dfcu Bank during the third edition of a series of webinars organized by the bank for its customers.
With the dfcu Bank Investment Club App, loan, account, expense, membership, projects and financial management is simplified. The capacity to onboard an unlimited number of members and free sign-up gives it an edge over other investment apps on the Ugandan market.
Muganza also revealed that the ability of members being able to monitor their savings acts as a motivation to get them to save in their personal lives.
“We witnessed a 25% increase in the balances where clubs have signed up, there seems to be a direct correlation between saving with the club and personal saving,” Muganza remarked.
According to Dr. Peter Kimbowa, a Talent Optimization Coach, what we are currently experiencing requires us to rethink everything we once knew, just as an old African adage goes; ‘when the beat of the drum changes, so must the dance steps’.
Three questions to ponder on; what must we stop doing? What must we start doing? And lastly, what should we speed up?
“There is a need for a mind-shift, some members may be unable to make good on their saving commitments at the moment given the current circumstances, that’s ok. Yesterday’s logic was that everyone has to pay, but right now the situation we are dealing with requires us to rethink, we need to review our progress. Then assess the potential and capacity of members to pay and areas to invest in,” Peter challenged.
He further advised clubs to go back to ground zero where it all begun and remind themselves of the ‘WHY’. “The club needs to look at ‘who we are’; this goes back to the purpose of the club, why did you come together in the first place? You came together to raise money and invest for the long term so that your incomes can grow. In hard times like this, now more than ever, it is important to stay focused and work together as a team.”
Some of the investment opportunities clubs can explore are as follows: Pension funds; fixed deposits, treasury bills, treasury bonds, corporate bonds, real estate, land and agroforestry, shares/stock, unit trust and offshore investments.
