AfricaPress-Tanzania: CRDB Bank and REPOA, a research based institute, have penned a deal to enable the former improve customer service and come up with solutions that will boost economic growth.
The deal entered yesterday will also assist the largest lender in the land to have scientific research on its bid to expand services into regional markets.
CRDB Chief Commercial Officer, Dr Joseph Witts said the bank recognizes the importance and contribution of scientific research in stimulating the country’s development by assisting in the formulation of various development policies and strategies.
“We believe that in addition to being highly skilled professionals in various fields, the success of any business, institution or country in the world is the result of scientific research aimed at finding solutions to the challenges facing society and making improvements,” Dr Witts told reporters on Thursday.
Dr Witts commended REPOA for the good work that has been done, and also thanked the institute for agreeing to cooperate with CRDB in this process which will aim to increase efficiency within the bank, improve services and continue to make the lender stay the number one choice for Tanzanians.
“As you are aware, our motto is ‘the bank that listens’ to the customer, in order to be able to listen and come up with better solutions for customers, we have been conducting and using research by various institutions, including REPOA,” Dr Witts said.
The CCO said through research, they have been able to find out the real needs of customers, design better products and services that meet the needs of clients and set various business strategies to increase the participation of the bank in various government efforts in poverty reduction and economic growth.
REPOA Executive Director, Dr Donald Mmari said they are ready to work with CRDB to bring about positive change and increase efficiency in various operational areas within the bank.
The partnership will go a long way in building CRDB Bank and its staff in the capacity to conduct various studies, while the goal remains to better serve its customers and participate fully in bringing development to the country.
CRDB, which is listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, has lined up mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the first point of entry through Greenfield Investments in the next 12 months.
The banks opened a subsidiary in Burundi in 2012. REPOA studies have been used to formulate various development policies and strategies in the country, including the National Development Plan up to 2025; National Poverty Alleviation Strategy (NPES); Tanzania Funding Strategy (TAS); Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP); and the Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (MKUKUTA).
Last year, for the sixth consecutive time, REPOA was ranked as the top think tank in Tanzania in the Global Go To Think Tank Index (GGTTI), an international survey conducted by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme of the University of Pennsylvania.
