AI-enabled digital banking support in Uganda

Eclectics is the largest provider of high-tech digital services to African-based businesses operating in a variety of industries such as financial sector, agricultural and public sectors. With 13 years’ background and over 207 software developers, the company has successfully implemented over 1,500 projects touching on hundreds of millions of lives in Africa. Eclectics won the FINCA deployment through Proto’s reseller program, which provides opportunities for resellers in emerging markets to partner with Proto.

FINCA Uganda needed a cost-effective way to scale microfinance services as part of its digital transformation strategy. In particular, the bank was looking for a way to automate customer service for simple requests such as new account setup, checking balances, frequently asked questions, and more.

With quality customer service and greater financial inclusion as FINCA Uganda’s core values, the solution needed to be user-friendly and accessible across the digital channels their customer base was already familar with. It also needed to allow FINCA Uganda to store customer data in its own database instead of on the cloud to comply with national data security regulations.

FINCA Uganda deployed Proto’s AI Customer Experience solution in partnership with Eclectics to meet their digitization goals. The solution included a chatbot, Flora, which automates customer service for account setup, frequently asked questions, and more across webchat, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Customers can now authenticate their account through the chat window on any of these channels for automated service 24/7. With Flora's assistance, customers can access the information they need to make financial decisions without travelling to a FINCA branch in person. When customers have more complex queries, they can receive live assistance directly from the chat window during business hours. Live agents can answer chats across all channels from the Proto platform, with access to complete customer profiles and chat history for full case context.

Additionally, Proto’s Hosting feature allows the bank to store sensitive customer data in their own database, while operating the Proto platform in the cloud. Overall, Proto’s CX automation platform was the solution to FINCA Uganda’s digital transformation agenda, and is helping it continue to provide accessible financial services for bottom-of-the-pyramid customers across the country.

Proto’s AI Customer Experience solution helped FINCA Uganda offer their trusted services across the messaging apps their customers use most. Customers can easily access their accounts and ask questions through conversational chat, and agents can offer better support with customer chat history at their fingertips.

Proto is proud to partner with Eclectics and FINCA Uganda to help scale inclusive financial services for small business owners and low-income customers in Uganda, and will continue to work with Eclectics towards future successes.