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Author: creativeyr_manager

Building an Effective Business Strategy

Posted on by creativeyr_manager
Howdy, it’s been a minute but I hope you are holding up well. Hope the year has taken an upward trajectory so far in terms of your goals and plans for the year. If there is one thing the last 12 months has taught us is the power of an effective business strategy. Have you ever wondered why some companies just seem to be as solid as a rock? Whatever tide hits they never seem shaken and if they do shake a little, they never topple. Well, that’s the power of a well-executed, sound and solid business strategy. Having a killer business idea is great, but the execution is everything. For you to execute well you’ll need to strategize how to achieve your desired goal with what’s currently at hand. Your strategy should include your company's goals and objectives, the type of products/services that you plan to build, the customers who you want to sell to and the markets that you serve to make profits. Your strategy however graduates from just a strategy to a solid strategy when all the assumptions you make at the time of its creation have been validated and tested for accuracy, and the decisions you've made can be backed with clear facts and evidence. A good business strategy will guide you when it comes to making investment decisions, prioritizing activities within your organization and allocating and optimizing resources to generate above-average returns. So how do you develop a business strategy? Your strategy should be long-term and realistic. Having in mind the type of product/service you’d like to build, factor in who your customers will be, the markets you would like to serve and the activities you’ll need to do to get your business to the desired future state. Carefully analyse the possible opportunities for growth as well as diagnose the risks and challenges anticipated. Come up with a mitigation plan to address your anticipated risks. Take your time to gather facts and data you require before finalizing. Be innovative and ensure your products or service have a unique point of sale and are in alignment with your business’s core objective. Factor in competition. Your business can offer a solution to a market that is not served or underserved. If you choose to go with an already flooded market, then what you offer must be unique enough to pull the customers your way. While at it, position your company well in the marketplace to make it harder for new entrants. Economies of scale. Be innovative in the cheapest way possible. Offer unique feature and back them up with excellent customer service. Periodically review and update your business strategy to ensure it's valid and has factored in new changes. Once the strategy is finalized, share it with the relevant stakeholders. That way everyone is aware of the direction the organization is taking and the role they need to play to help the company achieve its goals. Once your strategy is in place, let it guide everything your organization does. Having a remarkable strategy is just the theoretical bit, executing it successfully is the practical bit that matters. Till next time, ciao! Your bank buddy IMBA We Are On Your Side

Cyber Security Is Bound To Make An Impact In Your Business

Posted on by creativeyr_manager

Have you ever been scammed? If not, you have probably received a phone call or message carefully crafted by fraudsters with either an emotional appeal, suspicious links to click on, or claims of wrongly sent mobile money which wasn’t sent. Isn’t it interesting how cybercriminals get into your head and lead you to dark lanes of information or financial theft? Don’t be a victim. You can protect yourself and your business from malicious attacks by staying alert.

That said, what is Cyber Security? It is the protection of internet-connected computers and/or mobile devices from unauthorized access, abuse, fraud, or crime; components collectively known as cyber-attacks or cybercrime. Here are some of the common types of cybercrime:

  • Phishing - Fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive personal information
  • Social engineering - The art of manipulating persons to give up confidential information
  • Sim Swap Fraud - Unauthorized takeover of a victim’s phone number
  • Malware attacks – Compromising technology devices using software specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.
  • Hacktivism - the act of misusing a computer system or network for a socially or politically motivated reason.
  • State-sponsored cyberattacks – Cybercrime carried out by states for intelligence gathering or espionage purposes

The harsh reality is that anyone, whether an individual or a corporate, can be a victim of cybercrime. Apart from financial losses, cybercrime can result in serious reputational damage, especially for corporates,  whose effects are carried on for years.

A currently common mode of cybercrime is the sim swap fraud where cyber criminals hijack a victim’s cell phone number and use it to gain access to sensitive personal data and bank accounts through Mobile Banking Apps. Once they take control of the swapped SIM card, the crooks access the financial accounts of the victim, having socially engineered credentials or information that could facilitate account resets, and transfer all the funds to other scammed telephone numbers.

With the high rate of adoption of technology and digitization, especially during the current COVID-19 crisis, cybersecurity is a hot topic to arrest. Fraud activities are on the rise now, more than ever and businesses have to rethink their measures. An Africa Cybersecurity Report 2019/2020 by Serianu – a Pan-Africa-based cybersecurity and Business Consulting firm, shows that malware attacks are expected to rise, and in particular, locally developed or re-engineered strains.

The same report also reveals that Kenya's economy lost more than Kshs. 29.5 billion from cyber-attacks in 2018. According to an article by the Business Daily in February 2021, The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) data showed that more than 56 million cyber threats were detected nationwide in comparison to 37.1 million in 2019. The CA further expounded that a majority of the threats were malware attacks at 46 million, followed by web application attacks at 7.8 million while 2.2 million Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) threats were detected during the same period.

Evidently, there’s a need to develop diplomatic strategies to curb financial losses and information system vulnerabilities, thereby improving/earning customer trust. This said the top priority for a business is safeguarding its assets and client information from unauthorized access. 

So why is cybersecurity bound to make an impact on your business?

  • It is now a requirement. Businesses are now bound to be cautious because there are legal consequences of cyber-attacks. Recently, Governments around the world have enforced data protection laws to safeguard client information. The Data Protection Act No. 24 of 2019 in Kenya reveals the provisions for the regulation of the processing of personal data; for rights of data subjects and obligations of data controllers and processors; and for connected purposes. The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act of 2018 establishes various offenses including unauthorized interference or interception of computer systems programs or data, false publication of data, cyber terrorism, identity theft and impersonation, phishing, computer fraud among others, that corporates should protect their customers from.
  • A Mitigation/contingent plan against reputational damage is important now, more than ever. In this digital era and in an ever-competitive marketplace, it is important to uphold great customer perception. As a business, the more transparent you are towards mitigating cyber risks and solving crises when they occur, the more competitiveness you gain. Your customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders want to feel a sense of security and that they can trust you – otherwise they will leave. Reputation and customer retention, therefore, go hand in hand. In this cyber age, it matters what your relevant internal and external stakeholders think about you because it affects your sales funnel and trust score in the long run. Transparency should therefore be your key focus towards upholding the reputation of your business.
  • Technology is ever-changing, which means that malicious attacks are also evolving as well. There is no gainsaying the essence of reinforcing the security measures to mitigate any future surprise attacks. As a business, ensure that you stay vigilant of emerging data breaches/threats and seek advice from experts when necessary. It is therefore important to implement cybersecurity practices that not only protect your business information but your customers’ information as well.

In this fourth industrial revolution, you must remain mindful of your cybersecurity and that of your business. We are on your side!

What to consider when setting out an investment

Posted on by creativeyr_manager
If there is one thing you can never get enough of; it’s investment advice. There are many factors that you need to think in-depth and consider before making that investment decision. Truth be told, investment opportunities can go two ways: you either end up fulfilled or devastated. Think about the get-rich-quick schemes that you have heard of or experienced in your lifetime. Have you ever fallen victim to such scams? If yes, when you look back, did you sense that gut feeling not to proceed or do due diligence but you still went ahead and invested your hard-earned money? Sorry for your loss. We have all lost money in one way or another, if you haven’t yet, take the pointers we will talk about here. Investment strategy One principle question you should always ask yourself whenever you have an investment decision to make is; what is my motivation? Establish a motive, create a sensible investment plan and follow through with it. Some of the reasons could be to: Start or expand your business Create funds to build a dream home Build generational wealth Create funds for retirement Create a pool of accessible emergency funds or savings Make charitable donations Research and due diligence Let logic as opposed to emotions guide you in making that decision, and, confirm the accuracy of the information and investment value before committing. Research into regulations surrounding a product including taxation, charges, past performance, management of a company, and future strategy. Keep yourself updated with current affairs to ensure that you do not miss out on opportunities to leverage on an investment. Risk appetite. What is your risk appetite? Are you risk-tolerant (willing to take high risk for high returns?) or risk-averse (reluctant to take high risks/ prefer average returns with low risks)? We are living in changing times where the financial markets are ever-changing and controlled among other things by governments, speculation, demand vs supply, inflation, international transactions, and even recently global pandemics as we have witnessed. Ensure to weigh the risks relative to the costs, duration, and returns on the investment. Opportunity cost. Let me shed some light on this. Imagine your friends have been talking about taking an exquisite vacation to Lamu. Are you willing to give it up because you heard about this lucrative piece of land that has just been offered at a discounted price and the amount could go into buying the land? Now, the opportunity cost of buying the piece of land instead of taking the vacation is the cost of the vacation. This brings us to the question; could you be missing out on alternative investment options while sticking to the current ones that may not be as progressive? Time and time value of money Time is always of the essence when it comes to investment. How long are you willing to lock up your investment to make your target or desired goal in the short or long-term? Investments should also be able to mimic your ideal portfolio and timeline. The value of money erodes with the passing of time, ensure that your investment is earning a return and of course within reasonable limits and risk. Also, the earlier you start investing, the more you reap and the better it is for you to be able to compound your earnings. Investment capital. There is no gainsaying that this determines your choice of investment. However, this does not mean that you should limit yourself e.g. those with low investment capital may look at collective investment schemes e.g. Unit Trusts, Chamas (investment groups), etc to invest in securities where the minimum investment amount might be limiting to individuals. Nowadays you can also take advantage of financial help and offerings such as loans, letters of credit, trade finance, asset finance, and many more options. Take your time to understand the terms, conditions, and risks involved as well. Always make informed decisions. You can always seek professional assistance where necessitated. Remember, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” ~Benjamin Franklin. You can now confidently walk into February ready to make an informed decision to invest in that business or opportunity. All the best! We are on your side!

E-commerce measures merchants should take to protect their customers from frauds

Posted on by creativeyr_manager

Hey, hope your well. From my end all has been well… Last week as I was making a purchase online, It occurred to me how e-commerce sites make purchasing products so easy and convenient yet they can also be a gateway to fraud.

Come to think of it, there has been a lot of public awareness and sensitization on how to protect oneself from cybercriminals. However, the question is, when it comes to online shopping, what can ecommerce merchants do to protect their customers from fraudsters? In as much as e-commerce sites have multiple security features on their sites, some of the red flags to watch out for include:

- Multiple declined transactions, especially in cases where the user keeps on entering the wrong card details or there are insufficient funds… It may be common for a customer to enter wrong card details once or twice but anything more than that should raise eyebrows.

- Multiple orders from multiple credit cards from the same user within a short period of time.

- Multiple shipping addresses. The buyer makes multiple purchases under the same billing address but ships products to multiple destinations. A merchant can seek authentication from such a shopper just to be sure that this is not a fraudulent activity.

- Large orders from a new country/ location: From your previous data you’ve never received site visits or purchases from a particular country then all of a sudden there is a string of orders from that country. Do a careful assessment before you allow the purchase process to continue.

- Multiple orders originating from multiple geographic locations and different IP addresses within a short period of time. E.g. a customer always makes a purchase from Nairobi from a specific IP address but you notice a purchase origination from Mombasa from a different IP address.

- Transaction value outside of a customer’s profile. For instance, customer who on average spends Ksh 50,000 on his purchase then all of a sudden makes a purchase order of ksh 700,000 should be considered suspicious.

- Inaccurate data: You may find the customer’s email address doesn’t match the IP address or the zip code doesn’t match the country.

- Multiple transaction over short period of time. A customer making back to back purchases in a day or two should be treated with suspicion. The merchant should contact the buyer just to ascertain that the purchases are indeed legit.

These are just but a few red flags indicative of fraud that a merchant should pay attention to. Remember that as you enhance your site’s security features, cybercrime is also evolving. Therefore, always be on the lookout for such suspicious activity and where necessary put in place mitigating controls. These may include withholding suspicious purchases and additional identity verification of customers via one-time passwords to the customer’s registered contact information.

As I conclude, fraudsters prey on loopholes to make their kill. #KaaChonjo and help protect your customers from cybercriminals.

Yours faithfully

IMBA

MSMEs Resilience in turbulent Times.

Posted on by creativeyr_manager
Let’s just start this particular blog by acknowledging that, since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the crisis presented a mixture of experiences both to individuals and businesses. While the crisis availed different opportunities to some, the greater impact hasn’t been easy on businesses and households. We have witnessed businesses shutting down their operations and, adapting new survival strategies while hanging onto their last straw of working capital. Globally, businesses have had to resort to innovative ideas to survive the current environment. Some of the key forward-looking strategies businesses have to consider for survival are: Health and safety of the resources Scaling down the workforce to comply with prescribed protective protocols Adapting new strategies like remote working, shifts where applicable, salary cut, redundancy, etc. Business optimization- closing some units/departments or total closure. Cost-cutting mechanisms also naturally applied At the macro level, economies have to cope with unprecedented realities affecting the business environment. This has resulted in businesses going back to the drawing board for survival options. MSME businesses have been known to drive stable and resilient economies all over the world where sound enabling environments have been put in place. MSME has become a regularly used acronym for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise and informs our discussion. According to an article by Phyllis Wakiaga, CEO of Kenya Association of Manufacturers and the UN Global Compact Network Representative for Kenya, Kenya’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) contribute approximately 40% of the GDP with the majority falling in the informal sector. This informs the deliberate forward-looking effort and mechanisms that I&M Bank has put in place for a successful scale-up of MSMEs in the country. In a bid to support financial inclusion for MSMEs, I&M bank has introduced an all-weather dynamic approach in walking the journey with MSME customers for superior customer experience with a profound business resilience. Below are some of the offerings for MSMEs: A warm relationship with customized business advisory Bundled flexible Working capital solutions up to Kes.3Million with a competitive TAT (short-term loans, temporary overdrafts, LPO & Invoice discounting facilities, etc.) State of art alternative banking experience- Swift Mobile and Internet Banking Attractive current account benefits Quick Unsecured bid bonds As we all navigate through these turbulent times, we assure the MSME customers that we deeply understand their plight and walk with them through this journey. WE encourage them to take full advantage of our available solutions because we are on your side!

Cyber-security in an era where digital banking is the order of the day

Posted on by creativeyr_manager
Howdy, it’s been a minute but it is always lovely to catch up with you. This rainy weather has me on sweaters and hot chocolate most of the time…Hope you are keeping warm though. Today I want us to have a chat on cybersecurity. I know you’ve heard that word a number of times but are you cyber secure, especially at a time like this where we are heavily relying on the internet for most of our transactions? What’s the worst that can happen if you are not cyber secure? Well, a lot can happen. For instance, if your personal data is breached, all your private information becomes public. A hacker might be able to access your banking information or steal your identity. For businesses, breach of data can lead to loss of revenue or having to spend money on legal fees, PR, or insurance costs just to deal with the situation. So how do you ensure you are cyber secure? Start by making sure all your operating systems and applications are up to date. This helps eliminate vulnerabilities that hackers may use to access your device. You can do this by simply: Making sure your web browser plugin like Adobe Flash, Java, etc. are updated Make sure you set your web browser to update automatically Turn on automatic updates on all your devices. Use strong passwords and protect your passwords. Use passwords that are not so obvious and easy for someone to guess. A combination of characters, numeric and special characters is advisable. Avoid leaving hints of passwords and use a password management tool to help you manage your passwords. This tool works by keeping all your passwords in one place and giving you a “master key” password that can unlock the rest. This way you don’t have to write down your password or struggle to remember. Use multi-factor authentication. This will simply add a layer of protection to your password. With Multi-factor authentication, after entering your password you’ll be prompted to enter an additional code, another password, or your fingerprint. Be on the lookout for phishing. Scammers may pose as someone you are familiar with and trick you into opening malicious links that may divulge important credentials or infect your device with a virus. Avoid using your debit cards for online billing. This is because debit cards are linked to your bank accounts and fraudulent sites can use this channel to syphon money from your account. I recommend you use a prepaid card for online payments and subscriptions. Need one? Click here and make your pick! These are just a few tips on how you can secure yourself online. There are many channels fraudsters can use to steal from you. Be proactive and always learn more about how you can secure yourself online. With that said, if you ever suspect any fraudulent activity in any of your I&M Bank accounts, immediately call us on 020 322 1000 or email us at [email protected] and we will immediately assist you. With that said, ciao, till next time! Your bank buddy IMBA We Are On Your Side