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Standard Bank partners with Microsoft to establish the African Digital Foundry

Standard Bank partners with Microsoft to establish the African Digital Foundry

by | Jun 15, 2021 | Africa, Azure, General, Microsoft Africa, Microsoft South Africa

Standard Bank and Microsoft announce a strategic partnership to accelerate the digital transformation of Africa’s largest financial institution and further drive the continent’s growth. The Bank’s growing investment in the Microsoft Cloud will enable the innovation, efficiencies, and resilience required to respond to market dynamics and customer needs.

This partnership builds on the 30-year relationship between the two companies and involves migrating workloads, applications, and platforms to Microsoft Azure to drive organisational efficiencies, as well as workforce collaboration with Azure, PowerApps, Workplace Analytics and Microsoft Teams.

“Investing in the cloud will allow Standard Bank to achieve its strategy to transform from a traditional financial services company into a digital platform company, providing financial services, plus ancillary and associated services. We have adopted a cloud-first strategy, underpinned by end-to-end security and data-driven insights that will enable transformation with tangible results,” says Standard Bank Group Chief Executive, Sim Tshabalala.

“Standard Bank’s cloud-first strategy underlines the growing momentum in financial services to deliver differentiated experiences that today’s customers expect,” said Judson Althoff, Microsoft’s executive vice president of Worldwide Commercial Business. “As a long-standing technology partner, we are pleased to collaborate with Standard Bank in realizing this strategy and in becoming Africa’s future-first financial services firm through digital skilling-focused initiatives that will expand economic opportunity for young people across Africa.”

As part of the partnership, the companies will also:

  • Establish the African Digital Foundry (The Foundry), a strategic alliance, for Standard Bank and Microsoft to collaborate to co-create unique solutions through new technology to meet the financial needs of Africa’s consumers. Through the Foundry, the companies aspire to reach 100 million customers in Africa over the next five years.
  • Bring together their resources and know-how to provide youth with the relevant digital skills needed to secure future-ready jobs and equip Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with digital skills and capabilities so that they can take advantage of the growing shift to digital technologies.

The African Digital Foundry (The Foundry)

Standard Bank and Microsoft, through the Foundry, will co-create and execute joint go-to-market digital services related to trade, payment, and risk-based (lending and insurance) solutions.  They will also develop ecosystems enabling digital trading to facilitate Africa’s growth.

“The Foundry is a digital initiative established in Africa, for Africans, to address the unique challenges the continent faces with customised innovations, services and solutions,” says Tshabalala. “The partnership will further enhance and create ongoing collaboration between our firms around co-engineering solutions for African consumers’ unique needs.”

Skills and Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Development

Harnessing the power and reach of both organisations, the partnership will also drive digital skills development, boost youth employment, and accelerate the growth of SMEs on the African continent.

Both organisations believe that digital transformation represents an opportunity for the continent to leap ahead, taking a leading role in enabling economic and societal growth in Africa.

Microsoft and Standard Bank will leverage their combined research, industry, partner and start-up programmes to impact the continent – where similar opportunities and challenges exist – using technology such as mixed reality and artificial intelligence.

“Continuing to build on the partnership is part of the ongoing journey that Standard Bank and Microsoft are on to invest in digital transformation as the enabler of meaningful and tangible innovation. Our journey is underpinned by collaborative efforts to develop, scale and roll-out digital solutions that will deliver personalised services to 100 million Africans and by meeting their unique and evolving needs and demands,” says Tshabalala.

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Check out other stories making the news in the technology ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.

Standard Bank offers free Microsoft Digital Literacy Course to all South Africans

Standard Bank offers free Microsoft Digital Literacy Course to all South Africans

by | Apr 28, 2020 | General, Learn, Microsoft South Africa

Standard Bank is offering a free online Microsoft Digital Literacy Course to all South Africans in partnership with Pioneering Solutions Studio.

The courses focus on generic ICT skills and concepts. How to use a computer and the Internet. keeping yourself and your computer safe online. As well as how to use the most common Microsoft productivity software applications (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).

The online course is open to all South Africans during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. You also don’t need to have a Standard Bank account to use the platform. It explores a range of digital skills and practices over four key modules. Providing the learner with the ability to utilise technology to interact with the world around them.

To register, learners will need a device, such as a phone, tablet or computer, with internet connectivity, a valid email address, together with their South African ID number. Learners that do not have an email address can register for a free Microsoft Outlook email account from the platform. Upon completion they will be issued with a Microsoft Imagine Academy certificate. This certificate will allow South African’s to claim recognition of prior learning in Digital Literacy at any institution of higher learning.

According to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), there are nearly 1.4 billion students globally who can’t attend school and university as a result of COVID-19. Millions of people around the world are also unable to work as a result of quarantine and lockdowns.

In its latest Global Shapers Report, the World Economic Forum referred to online learning as the future of education. StatsSA’s most recent Labour Force Survey shows upskilling courses significantly increase the likelihood of employment. With more employers favouring employees that have had continuous development as professionals.

In today’s digital world, nearly every career requires digital communication at some point. Standard Bank believes that equipping yourself with the skills to effectively and responsibly find, evaluate, communicate and share online content is key to your future. “You need a certain level of digital literacy to turn on your computer. So that you can connect with loved ones but require different skills to locate and complete an online job application. Standard Bank wants you to be digital literacy savvy, whether you bank with us or not”.

The course will continue to be available post the lockdown period. To learn more about the Microsoft Digital Literacy course – visit learn section on the Standard Bank website.

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