SME Banking Impact Award 2025: SMEsouk Podcast (Rakbank)

Innovation presentation – Describe the project and how it brings innovation to SME banking

In a market filled with direct selling campaigns, we created a platform where brightest minds in the market share insights and guidance to the business community to help owners and partners take their businesses forward and higher. After the success of first season of RAKABNK SMEsouk Podcast, we launched the second season in 2024.

Uniqueness of the project – Highlight what makes this initiative stand out

We created an educational platform featuring insights from market leaders and successfully launched and expanded the SMEsouk Podcast to a second season. For the second season, we produced eight high-quality episodes covering market-relevant topics, inviting subject matter experts to enhance content value and credibility. 

By implementing strategies to maximize reach and engagement, we achieved 587,000 YouTube views and over 4 million impressions across three platforms. 

The podcast is available on multiple platforms, including 4K video quality on YouTube. 

Our efforts promoted financial literacy, demonstrated our capability to produce engaging content independently, drove brand recognition for RAKBANK, and established the podcast as a valuable resource for the SME community.

The Reason Behind

As a leading regional market player in SME banking, RAKBANK strongly believes that community engagement is an integral part of our mission. Our efforts are focused on educating and equipping the SME community with vital knowledge. This includes sharing insights on current topics, emerging trends, and critical market information. We aim to enhance their understanding of credit and operational risks while also providing guidance on adopting technologies that are relevant and beneficial to their business operations. By fostering this level of engagement, we strive to empower SMEs to make informed decisions and drive their businesses toward sustainable success.

Resources

Several key teams contributed to the success of the project - Business Banking Product, Marketing, Corporate Communications, and Strategic Procurement played pivotal roles. The Product team provided valuable insights on guest lists and topic selection, ensuring the content was relevant and engaging. The Marketing team diligently curated the podcast content, tailoring it for maximum audience impact. The Corporate Communications team expertly managed the podcast rollout, ensuring a smooth and coordinated launch. Finally, the Strategic Procurement team secured the necessary production infrastructure and negotiated favorable contracts, laying a solid foundation for the project’s execution. 

Collectively, these collaborative efforts not only highlight our commitment to excellence but also demonstrate how cross-functional teamwork drives innovation and successful outcomes.

Challenges

The team faced challenges ranging from calendar alignment to production improvements and cost overshoots. Since this was only the second season, expectations were significantly higher, and the pressure to build on the achievements of the inaugural season was immense. This heightened scrutiny meant that every shortfall was carefully examined, and continuous improvement became the mantra.

To overcome these obstacles, the team adopted a proactive approach by leveraging lessons learned during the first season. They implemented robust scheduling practices to address calendar alignment issues, refined production processes to enhance efficiency, and instituted tighter budget controls to mitigate cost overshoots. These targeted improvements helped streamline operations. The resilience, collaboration, and innovative problem-solving demonstrated throughout this process have set a strong foundation for subsequent seasons, ensuring the project can evolve and escalate to meet even higher standards in the future.

Results

By implementing strategies to maximize reach and engagement, we achieved 587,000 YouTube views and over 4 million impressions across three platforms. 

The SMEsouk Podcast has become a valuable resource for the SME community, providing insights and knowledge that help businesses thrive. By featuring industry leaders and experts, we have ensured that each episode delivers practical advice and information that small businesses can apply to their operations. This initiative underscores RAKBANK's commitment to supporting the SME sector and highlights our role as a trusted partner in their success.