EXIM BANK'S BRANCH OPERATIONS GET ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED

Mr Frederick Kanga, Head of Human Resources at Exim Bank (right) with Mr Nyasha Mupukuta a representative from ISO Agency-ACM (left) as they take a picture after Exim Bank was awarded ISO 9001:2015 certification for its branch operations. Exim bank Tanzania has become the first bank in the country to have its branch operations receive ISO 9001:2015 certification.

23rd November 2017. In its mission to become the most efficient and innovative bank in the country, Exim bank Tanzania has become the first bank in the country to have its branch operations receive ISO 9001:2015 certification.

ISO which stands for International Standards Organization sets out the criteria for a quality management system that is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement of processes and operations.

Speaking during the ISO certificate handover at the bank’s headquarters in Dar es Salaam, Mr. Frederick Kanga, Head of Human Resources said that the ISO certification is another great milestone for the bank, which was recently named Tanzania’s Best Retail Bank by Banker Africa East Africa.

“Attaining this certification is another step in the right direction for our bank to showcase its commitment to provide quality service to its customers. We aim to sustain and improve market faith, sustain customer confidence, improve service levels, reduce transactional time, differentiate from other banks, increase efficiency, experience higher profitability and increased market share,” further said Mr. Fredrick Kanga.

The process of attaining the certification began in 2017 where Exim Tower, Clock Tower and Namanga branches were selected as the first three pilot branches to undergo the ISO Certification.

The project which has taken over 6 months to complete started with the training of the relevant staff on ISO 2001:2015 Quality Management System Standard, Risk Management and Internal Audit; creating the schedule, setting up resources required, milestones as well as timelines, and it was their commitment to performance excellence that has led to this award.

Also speaking at the handover ceremony the ISO Representative said that ISO was founded with the idea of answering a fundamental question: “what's the best way of doing this?”

“ISO has developed standards that cover every industry and therefore when a company gets ISO certified it means that consumers can have confidence that their products are safe, reliable and of good quality,” explained ISO rep.

Exim Bank has built a strong brand through its geographical reach, innovative products, relationship management and its ability to provide a faster turnaround in services. With the ISO certification, the bank endeavors to ensure predefined internal and external audits are performed periodically to ensure all the branch operational areas and the laid down standard operational procedures are adhered to and maintained in guaranteeing top-of-the-notch customer service delivery leading to unrivalled customer satisfaction.

The Head of Human Resources of Exim Bank concluded “As an ISO certified bank, we look forward to obtain improved consistency of service and product performance, increased customer satisfaction levels, enhanced customer responsiveness, enhanced productivity, cost reductions, improved communications, morale and job satisfaction, competitive advantage and increased marketing and sales.”

The Bank is also optimistic of gaining both internal and external benefits, higher perceived quality, superior customer demand, healthier employee consciousness, increased operational efficiency, a drop in customer claims, improvement in delivery time, reduced defects, reduction in product cycle time, international acceptance and recognition, and an attractive return on investment.