Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 118 | Page 14

Nilton Mutungi, Director, ICT & E-Services at Women Enterprise Fund Kenya

Empowering women entrepreneurs through digital innovation

Nilton Mutungi, Director, ICT &
E-Services at Women Enterprise Fund Kenya, discusses how AI, cloud modernisation and mobile-first platforms are reshaping service delivery, strengthening operational efficiency and expanding access to finance for women entrepreneurs across Kenya.
How would you describe the WEF’ s digital transformation journey so far, and what are the key priorities driving your technology strategy today?
I would describe WEF’ s digital transformation journey as a transition from simply automating processes to fundamentally rethinking how technology can enable the Fund to deliver its mandate.
The most important shift has been the recognition that ICT is no longer just a support function. It is increasingly a strategic business enabler. Our technology strategy is therefore being driven by one central question: how do we use technology to make it easier, faster, safer and more transparent for a woman entrepreneur to access the support she needs?
Our current direction is anchored on several priorities. The first is digital financial inclusion, expanding access to our services through channels that women already use and understand. The digital lending model delivered through mobile channels is an important part of that journey.
The second is enterprise process transformation. We are looking at the end-to-end customer journey, from application and onboarding through credit processing, disbursement, repayment, recovery, customer communication and reporting. The objective is not simply to digitise an existing manual process, but to remove unnecessary steps and create a more connected digital experience.
The third priority is data. We are generating significant volumes of operational, financial and customer data, and we want to move from reporting what has happened to being able to understand why it happened, anticipate what may happen and support better decisions.
Cybersecurity, data protection, resilience and governance are equally important. Digital transformation without trust is not sustainable, particularly for an institution handling financial and personal information.
Ultimately, our technology strategy is aligned to WEF’ s broader 2023 – 2027 strategic direction: expanding financial access, strengthening institutional capacity and using technological innovation
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