Financial services companies across the world demonstrated an outstanding ability to innovate and adapt to meet the rapidly changing needs of their customers.

The second edition of the Qorus Reinvention Awards recognized top innovators in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The awards shone a spotlight on some of the products and services, and the creative teams behind them, that had propelled leading innovators ahead of their competitors. The fourteen finalists operated in a wide range of countries with very diverse markets.

That year's Qorus Reinvention Awards - MEA recognized offerings that displayed exceptional ingenuity in improving customer experience, distribution, ESG, operational excellence, and new ways of working. They also recognized the SME Bank of the Year. The highlight of the awards was the selection of the MEA Innovator of the Year from among the finalists whose vision committed them to continuous innovation.

The winners of the awards were announced at an in-person awards ceremony in Dubai on 22 October.

The Customer Experience category celebrates financial institutions that have made significant enhancements in their marketing, sales, distribution, and their management of customer channels, communications, engagement, and relationships.

Gold winner
Credit Score Feature by Standard Bank (South Africa)
Standard Bank is helping its customers improve their financial health by providing them with easy-to-access insights and advice about their creditworthiness. The bank has integrated a credit score feature on its mobile banking app that allows account holders to track how they are being rated by the Experian credit bureau and to access tips on how they could improve their creditworthiness. (Read the full case study)

Silver winner
Digital Lifestyle Branch by Bank Alfalah (Paskistan)
Bank Alfalah has opened an innovative branch in Karachi that gives customers an immersive and engaging digital experience tailored to meet their lifestyles. The Digital Lifestyle Branch by Bank Alfalah (BAFL) provides a range of digital banking services alongside a shop, restaurant and co-working spaces and is designed to promote the institution’s tech-driven financial offerings while also supporting local start-ups. (Read the full case study)

Bronze winner
Voice of the Customer by BankDhofar (Oman)
BankDhofar has developed a customer experience framework that uses advanced technology to assimilate real-time client feedback and initiate responses that enhance the performance of the business. The Voice of the Customer (VOC) program identifies customer sentiment across all of the bank’s touchpoints and uses data analytics to predict client experiences and identify key performance drivers. (Read the full case study)

The Distribution category celebrates financial institutions that have pioneered innovative practices, reimagining distribution in response to changing customer expectations, encompassing new delivery channels, branch transformation, multi-channel integration, mobile banking, and scalable end-to-end value propositions leveraging partnerships, platforms, and the Internet of Things.

Gold winner
Investment Club App by DFCU (Uganda)
Extending its support of Uganda’s more than 135,000 investment and savings clubs, DFCU Bank has launched a mobile app that allows members to track contributions, manage lending and collections and gauge returns in real-time. The Investment Club App, which has attracted more than 10,000 downloads, has spurred growth in the bank’s retail banking business and advanced its promotion of sound financial practices. (Read the full case study)

Silver winner
Money Protect by FNB (South Africa)
To help its customers guard against financial crime, FNB has introduced an insurance option that allows its account holders, as well as clients of its associate firm RMB Private Bank, to select pre-defined limits of cover for specific types of fraud. The Money Protect facility is incorporated into customers’ banking accounts and is automatically activated when they report a fraudulent transaction. (Read the full case study)

Bronze winner
Riyad Bank Al Hilal Co-Branded Credit Card by Riyad Bank (Saudi Arabia)
Riyad Bank is capitalizing on its strategic partnership with prominent local football club, Al Hilal SFC, by launching a co-branded credit card that offers holders a variety of discounts, cashback options and promotions. The bank’s extensive digital technology enables it to onboard new customers who apply for the credit card on its online platforms, or the Al Hilal mobile app, in less than five minutes. (Read the full case study)

The ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) category applauds financial institutions for their innovations that demonstrate how they have seamlessly embedded sustainability and ESG principles into their value chains.

Gold winner
Advance Against Salary by Rakbank (United Arab Emirates)
Rakbank has strengthened its commitment to ESG by teaming up with payment services provider Edenred to launch a wage card that allows low-income workers to draw funds in advance of their upcoming earnings. Workers can access the Advance Against Salary (AAS) facility on their wage cards via Edenred’s C3Pay mobile app. (Read the full case study)

Silver winner
Lokal is Beautiful by Mauritius Commercial Bank (Mauritius)
Mauritius Commercial Bank is helping SMEs in Mauritius grow a thriving and sustainable economy. It has enhanced its Lokal is Beautiful scheme to not only give entrepreneurs financial support but to also provide them with an ecosystem that encourages sustainable practices and innovative business models. (Read the full case study)

Bronze winner
Female Led Made Enterprises by KCB Group (Kenya)
KCB Bank Kenya, a subsidiary of the KCB Group, is advancing gender equality by offering a range of support services and funding to enterprises owned by women. Its Female Led and Made Enterprises (FLME) program has granted KShs114.6 billion (US$885 million) to 683,887 businesses, with a further KShs135.4 billion (US$1 billion) yet to be allocated, and provided skills training and education to more than 3,000 entrepreneurs. (Read the full case study)

The New Ways of Working category celebrates transformative initiatives that are reshaping the workforce of tomorrow. These projects redefine how work is done, how employees engage, and how organizational culture evolves to meet future demands. From leveraging data and technology to empowering employees with new skills alongside machines, this category recognizes innovative approaches to organizing, performing, measuring, and managing work in a rapidly changing environment

Gold winner
Digital Twins in a Digital World by RMB (South Africa)
Rand Merchant Bank is using Digital Twins, virtual representations of products and systems, to better integrate a range of process automation technologies and to help its employees work more effectively. The bank’s Center of Excellence manages more than 250 Digital Twins, synchronizing technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and GenAI, and has improved turnaround times in critical product lines by more than 20%. (Read the full case study)

Silver winner
Wenov Innovation Lab by Attijariwafa Bank (Morocco)
Attijariwafa Bank’s Wenov innovation lab is fostering the development of the financial sector in Africa through a variety of alliances and partnerships with startups, academic institutions, incubators, and accelerators. It aims to integrate financial and technological ecosystems in the region, quicken the emergence of business transformation projects, and encourage a culture of innovation among the bank’s employees. (Read the full case study)

Bronze winner
Integrated Life Insurance System by Misr Life Insurance Company (Egypt)
Misr Life Insurance has enhanced the skills and competence of its workforce, streamlined its organizational systems and processes and overhauled its technology infrastructure as part of an extensive business transformation. Its new Integrated Life Insurance System (ILIS), together with improvements across the organization, enabled the insurer to expand its market and reduce acquisition and operating costs. (Read the full case study)

The Operational Excellence category commends financial institutions for implementing scalable processes that drive improved efficiency, supporting a faster pace of growth for the bank's revenue stream and asset base compared to its overhead costs.

Gold winner
Open Insur by AXA Assurance Maroc (Morocco)
AXA Assurance Maroc is employing an innovative distribution model to drive its expansion into the motor insurance market. Its Open Insur model, which uses a network of mobile representatives linked to master agents, harnesses the power of affinity marketing, requires no additional investment in physical infrastructure or distribution channels, and can be scaled to accommodate further offerings such as health cover or SME insurance. (Read the full case study)

Silver winner
SAB Innovation Excellence Award by SAB (Saudi Arabia)
SAB is promoting innovation in its business by recognizing and celebrating the creativity and dedication of its employees. Its Innovation Excellence Award, launched last year, highlights the most innovative teams at SAB and demonstrates the company’s commitment to innovation to its workforce, customers and stakeholders. (Read the full case study)

Bronze winner
Pioneering Digital Banking Transformation by Absa Bank (Mauritius)
By harnessing an array of advanced digital technologies, Absa Bank (Mauritius) is transforming and enhancing the banking experience it provides customers. The bank is employing technologies such as GenAI, near-field communication (NFC), image recognition, optical character recognition (OCR) and machine learning to improve the efficiency and security of financial transactions and to provide clients with seamless, predictive, personalized experiences across multiple channels. (Read the full case study)

The SME Bank of the Year award recognizes the organization that stands out by showcasing innovation and digital solutions precisely tailored to meet the unique needs of SMEs, which may include the introduction of new financial products, digital banking services, or a strong commitment to exceptional customer support. This special category is a spin-off from the SME Banking Awards 2023 by the Qorus SME Banking community.

Gold winner
Emirates NBD (United Arab Emirates)
Emirates NBD is empowering SMEs across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and providing them with a comprehensive suite of products and services, extensive digital solutions across the bank’s touchpoints, and the support of experienced and skilled staff at its branches. Already, close to a quarter of SMEs in the UAE use Emirates NBD as their primary bank.

Silver winner
Wio Bank (United Arab Emirates)
A feature-rich digital app, embedded finance solutions and banking-as-a-service (BaaS) capabilities have enabled Wio Bank to quickly establish itself as a leader in the local SME sector. The neobank onboarded more than 20,000 SMEs on its digital platform in the six months after its launch late in 2022, achieved a customer activation rate of 91%, earned an NPS score of 73 and continues to rapidly grow its client base, transactions and balances.

Bronze winner
Rakbank (United Arab Emirates)
By tailoring its banking services and aligning complementary solutions from partners to meet the needs of small businesses, Rakbank has established itself at the forefront of the local SME sector. Its digital platform, extensive ecosystem and swift online onboarding and financing solutions have enabled a wide range of entrepreneurs, startups and fledgling companies to build and grow their businesses.