Tech Areas that will Drive the Kenyan Investment Arena

Technology and evolving customer behaviors are driving change across all financial services. In the Kenyan investments’ environment, remaining competitive means adapting to these changes, embracing new thinking, and leading the charge to innovate. Below are the technology areas we feel will drive the investment market in Kenya:

1. Improved Client Experience: This will remain a priority for investment firms. Removing any friction process that involves manual work will be a key focus. Allowing clients to set up accounts in seconds, invest and withdraw anytime, as well as offer value-added services on mobile will be a key differentiator.
2. Digital and Mobile Experience: We expect to see innovations in mobile services as investment firms adopt the “digital-first” strategy. In the next few years, if an investment firm does not embrace a digital structure, its business model will surely fail.
3. Change in Company Structures: More investment firms are making big bets on technology innovation while bracing for the impact of the growing FinTech sector. These shakedowns will continue happening as investment firms balance between investment analysts and technologists in decision-making.
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics:Investment firms already have huge chunks of data that their existing employees can do little about. Cognitive technology can handle these large chunks of data easily and provide business insights by creating connections amongst the data sets. Just like all innovations, AI poses a threat and opportunity.
5. Internet of Things (IoT): The integration of IoT capabilities within the financial services industry is still in its early stages in Kenya, but many believe digital applications represent the future of investing. Investment firms who will deploy IoT shall allow their clients to make contactless investments and track their returns with greater accuracy while giving the investment firms huge client data sets that they can analyze to predict trends.
6. Cybersecurity:The development of data science and data mining technology has driven an evolving debate on protection and privacy, which has increasingly translated into legislation. Enabling innovation and constructive use of data and protecting citizens from breaches or cybercrime linked to weak data laws are fine balances that investment firms have to consider even as they create their competitive edge riding on technological advancements.

In conclusion, we expect the investment industry to continue adopting new technologies into their process and create competitive advantage in the market as they strive to give their clients above average market returns.