Champions By SAB Qorus Reinvention Awards - MEA 2025 - Winner

The SAB Innovation Champions Program was launched to embed innovation into the heart of our operations by empowering middle management to become internal drivers of transformation. As the banking sector evolves rapidly due to shifting customer expectations and fintech disruption, SAB recognized the need to respond with agility and human-centered innovation.

The program’s core objective was to build a future-ready workforce—one that is customer-centric, agile, and capable of turning insights into impact. We trained 28 employees across diverse departments (including risk, compliance, operations, and customer experience) in Human-Centered Design, Agile, and Lean Startup methodologies. They were not just learners—they became facilitators and co-creators of change.

Inspired by leading innovation models and global design thinking sprints, Champions were trained in empathy, prototyping, facilitation, and rapid experimentation. The focus was Lifestyle Banking, aiming to create services that blend into customers’ daily lives. Each team worked on real business challenges, supported by structured coaching, expert feedback, and user validation.

The competition landscape was shaped by tech-savvy disruptors; however, our edge came from turning internal talent into innovation engines. This set us apart from banks relying on external consultancies.

The results were significant: five projects were developed, three moved into experimentation, and one is fully implemented in the SAB Mobile App (“For You – Gift Your Loved Ones”). We delivered 2,000+ training hours, scored a 9.5/10 satisfaction rating, and achieved a world-class NPS of 71.4. The program now serves as a model for innovation-led workforce transformation at scale.