Egypt's investment bank EFG Hermes announced on Monday a strategic cloud partnership with Microsoft. Through the partnership, EFG aimed at accelerating its digital transformation and shaping the future of innovation in the financial services industry. The two companies will strike a unique collaboration to unlock the opportunities that Microsoft's cloud has to offer, with a specific view towards the challenges of financial services, they said in a joint statement. The partnership will enable EFG to accelerate the modernisation of its IT environment to enhance customer, employee, and developer experience. As part of the strategic partnership, the two companies will focus on speeding up a secure and robust digital transformation roadmap aligned with EFG's digital strategy. Mohamed Wakeel, group chief operating officer at EFG Hermes (EFG Photo) This transformation will result in a modern, more flexible, and scalable IT environment for EFG, as well as improved employee experience; innovative applications and services with higher developer effectiveness, and most importantly enhanced customer engagement with better service, insights and connectivity. "The partnership with Microsoft comes at a time where we are looking to further cement our commitment to sustainability as we invest more in cloud-based solutions that help us achieve cost-efficiency, therefore enhancing scalability as part of our drive to digital transformation." Mohamed Wakeel, group chief operating officer at EFG, said. The collaboration will also enable EFG to ensure increased competitiveness, business resilience and innovation, whether it is to expand global reach, reduce time to market, create agility, lead with customer-centricity and make data-informed decisions, Wakeel added. "The financial services industry is undergoing tremendous transformation and technology is increasingly providing a competitive advantage by improving business agility, optimising costs and driving efficiency. At EFG Hermes, we aspire to build the financial services corporation of the future by harnessing the full potential of cloud technology" Mohamed Sayed Fathy, chief information officer at EFG, stated. Mirna Arif, Country Manager at Microsoft Egypt (Microsoft Photo) "Increasing the agility and scalability of our technology infrastructure is crucial to drive innovation and achieve differentiation that spurs sustainable growth. Through our partnership with Microsoft, we will be able to establish a secure platform that will fuel our cloud transformation strategy, enabling us to deliver differentiated customer experiences, optimise operations, enhance employee productivity, and support our portfolio of innovative fintech applications." Fathy added. Since its foundation in 1984, EFG has grown to become the leading financial services corporation in Frontier Emerging Markets (FEM), spanning thirteen countries across four continents covering 75 of the most compelling global markets. "Digital transformation is no longer just a competitive edge, but critical for business resilience. At Microsoft, we are empowering digital transformation and innovation in Egypt, by focusing on those industries that are vital to its economic growth." Mirna Arif, Country Manager at Microsoft Egypt, said. "We are committed to providing EFG Hermes with a hyperscale, seamless and modern digital platform that future proofs their business as they continue to manage unprecedented risks and grow rapidly with innovative business models."
