Development of Equity Bank’s research cell

• Nov 3, 2018
• 1 min

MSC has associated with Equity Bank on multiple engagements over the years. We initially collaborated to form a research cell to re-engineer Equity to be a market-led institution. MSC continued the collaboration as Equity Building Society transformed into Equity Bank. MSC subsequently collaborated with Equity on the research cell over multiple engagements. Today, Equity serves over 12 million customers.

In 2002, MSC had trained 10 of what was then Equity Building Society’s staff on its Market Insights for Innovation and Design (MI4ID) tools. This team worked with MSC to re-engineer Equity to be a market-led institution. Together, we overhauled the organization’s product suite, tested marketing campaigns prior to launch, and worked to understand clients’ needs, aspirations, and perceptions of customer service. As Equity Building Society transformed into Equity Bank, the same team worked with MSC to assess the perception of the existing brand to refine it for the new bank.

In 2010, as Equity Bank began its journey to transform digitally, it asked MSC to train a new research cell comprising 12 staff. This cell then worked with MSC to develop a range of digital savings products, optimize communications, and assess customer experiences at agent outlets. The team also worked to optimize Equity Bank’s product suite and customer experience for its expansion into five adjacent countries—Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Southern Sudan, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Equity’s CEO, Dr. James Mwangi has credited MSC’s MI4ID-based, market-led approach as being the key differentiator that allowed Equity’s phenomenal growth. Over the years, Equity has transformed from an organization that struggled to serve 109,000 customers to a regional bank that serves over 12 million customers.