The Co-operative Bank of Kenya today hosted a breakfast forum for 100 senior finance executives. The forum sought to address the global pressure on corporate treasurers to overcome working capital challenges and rising operational costs.
Held at the Serena Hotel under the theme Leveraging Financial Technology for Operational Efficiency, the event focused on shifting transactional banking away from being merely a cost center and turning it into a genuine source of competitive advantage. This timing is critical, as PwC’s 2025 Global Treasury Survey identifies cash and liquidity management as the top global priority for treasury teams.
“In today’s high-stakes environment, manual processes and delayed reconciliations are no longer just inconveniences. They are active liabilities that erode working capital and invite risk,” stated Lydia Rono, Director of Corporate & Institutional Banking Division at Co-operative Bank. “Our mission is to transform our customer’s transactional flows into a source of competitive advantage.”
Kenya’s digital payments market is projected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.1% between 2024 and 2028, solidifying Nairobi’s status as the “Silicon Savannah” and one of Africa’s four premier fintech hubs.
Mrs. Rono emphasized, “What Financial Directors and CFOs truly need today is strategic financial infrastructure that provides real-time visibility and control, ensuring their liquidity is not subjected to speculation.”
The Co-operative Bank Transaction Banking team presented cutting-edge solutions designed to meet this demand, including:
- Real-time cash flow visibility tools.
- Integrated payment systems with API connections to existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms.
- Advanced automated reconciliation capabilities.
“Operational efficiency today means more than just automation,” added Mr. Charles Washika, Director ICT and Innovations at Co-operative Bank. “Unlike in the past, when the primary use of technology was to automate services, we now support our clients in implementing technology to gain an advantage in supporting their customers through data-driven decision-making.”
The breakfast forum is a component of Co-operative Bank’s ongoing customer engagement strategy. Attendees included Financial Directors, Chief Finance Officers, and Managing Directors from various corporate sectors.
The Co-operative Bank Group is one of the largest financial institutions in the region and has 5 subsidiaries: Kingdom Securities Ltd, Co-optrust Investment Services Limited, Co-op Bancassurance Intermediary Ltd, Kingdom Bank Limited, and Co-operative Bank of South Sudan.
The Bank’s footprint includes 212 branches in Kenya, 5 in South Sudan, 619 ATMs & Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs), and over 15,000 Co-op Kwa Jirani agency banking outlets.