Co-op Bank tops industry at IT awards

L-R The Chief Information Officer Co-op Bank Dr Peter Njuguna receives a certificate for being a Finalist in the CIO Of The Year contest at the 2024 CIO Awards. [Courtesy]

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya was named the winner in the banking sector at this year’s CIO100 Awards.

The award followed a vigorous selection process that entailed scrutinising IT-driven projects that have made a tangible impact on business operations, community development, and digital transformation across the African continent.

Co-op Bank won accolades for the design and development of the Direct Settlement System (DSS) for the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE).

The DSS stood out among the numerous competing projects submitted for the contest by banks across Africa, with the Absa Group of South Africa and the First Bank of Nigeria making it to the finals.

"The DSS has since inception in August 2023 fostered a new coffee settlement regime at NCE, and settled in excess of $240 million (Sh30 billion) in coffee sales with minimal disruption," said the bank in a statement.

"In addition, the coffee fraternity has enjoyed unprecedented levels of price transparency and efficiency in payment processing that has boosted market confidence significantly."

During last year's edition of the awards, the Co-op's director of ICT and Innovation Charles Washika won the CIO of the year award.

The bank was also recently named Overall Winner at the Sustainable Finance Catalyst Awards organised by the Kenya Bankers’ Association.

Now in its 16th edition, the CIO100 Awards are organised by the African digital transformation driver, dx5, to celebrate organisations and individuals utilising IT innovatively to deliver business value, whether by creating a competitive advantage, optimising business processes, enabling growth, improving customer relationships, or digitally transforming the business.