Kenneth Agutamba, Stanbic Bank Uganda’s country manager for Reputation and Corporate Communication, is the new chairperson of the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) peer committee on Marketing and Communication.
This committee plays a pivotal role in shaping collective communication strategies and driving sector-wide reputation management efforts among Uganda’s licensed commercial banks and financial institutions.
Agutamba’s appointment follows a sector-wide nomination and consultation process coordinated by the UBA Secretariat that resulted in his unanimous endorsement. He will be deputised by Cairo Bank’s Head of Marketing and Communication, Agnes Mubiru.
The UBA peer committee on Marketing and Communication is mandated to coordinate industry-wide communication efforts, provide guidance on best practices and collaborate on initiatives that support the banking sector’s reputation, customer education and crisis response.
Agutamba takes over the leadership at a time when several banking institutions are embroiled in reputational queries. Of recent, the banking sector has experienced periods of uncoordinated actions and failures, especially in regard to fraud, which has led to concerns about regulatory oversight and bank stability.
On the other hand, insolvency and non-compliance with regulatory requirements have been key drivers for bank closures, as seen in cases such as Crane Bank and, most recently, Mercantile Credit Bank. In fact, with the ever-increasing influence of social media, many banking institutions are continuously finding themselves on the defensive on technical, legal and procedural issues that go a long way to damage reputations when insight is not provided on time by UBA.
So, Agutamba faces a daunting task to coordinate the banking industry communications to provide the public with precise and factual information in order to maintain the trust in the sector. Looking at the task ahead, Agutamba says it is a privilege to serve at such a critical time for the banking sector.
“The banking industry faces significant reputation pressures driven by rising incidents of financial fraud, growing customer skepticism and misinformation. This platform offers us the opportunity to collectively reshape the narrative by building trust, communicating value, and fostering transparency.”
“I am committed to using this role to elevate the sector reputation by contributing to a healthier, more robust financial ecosystem for all stakeholders. Together with colleagues on the committee, we will work to ensure our industry communicates with clarity, credibility, and confidence.”
Patricia Amito, head of Communications at the Uganda Bankers Association, welcomed the new committee leadership, noting: “We are delighted to have Agutamba take on this leadership role. His commendable work as the leader of our media engagement sub-committee coupled with his deep understanding of strategic communication and proven track record in reputation management make him well-suited to steer the wider committee at this important time. We are confident that under his stewardship, we will become more dynamic, responsive, and impactful in addressing the sector’s evolving communication needs.”
Agutamba brings to the role over a decade of experience in strategic communication, stakeholder engagement, and public affairs across the banking, media, and development sectors in East Africa.
Prior to this role, he led UBA’s sub-committee on media engagement. His leadership at Stanbic Bank Uganda has been marked by initiatives that have enhanced the Bank’s public reputation, stakeholder trust, and thought leadership positioning within the financial services industry.
WHO IS AGUTAMBA?
A Ugandan from Hoima, Agutamba cut his corporate teeth in Kigali where he was a prominent business journalist and columnist with The New Times, before being tapped by Bank of Kigali, Rwanda’s largest commercial bank as manager for Marketing and Public Relations.
He returned to Uganda at the start of 2020 and joined Stanbic Bank the following year, succeeding Cathy Adengo as the lender’s Country Manager for Communication. You will not find a Ugandan soft-spoken banking communication executive like Agutamba he speaks with such a pleasant tone, laidback calmness and persuasive language that it is hard not to get hooked.
Be it a sponsorship, promotion, activation, corporate social responsibility (CSR) or even a crisis, Agutamba approaches every situation with positive energy. Many people who have worked closely with him admit he has a golden charm.
However, behind this cool persona lies a firm stance with strict adherence to goals and deadlines. If your meeting is scheduled for a particular time, you better be there at least 10 minutes earlier or else you will be embarrassed.
What’s more, Ken, as he is mostly known in corporate circles, hates mediocrity, especially when it comes to deadlines. In the Ugandan and Rwandan media circles, he is darling that many love to hate!
Love because of his comprehension of figures and statistics and hate because of his constant follow-ups that leave many uncomfortable.
WIDER CHALLENGES
In leading a committee charged with managing communication across the 28 members of UBA, Agutamba and his colleagues will need to ensure that the sector remains relevant to the current clients, especially the Generation Z demographic.
Considering the advent of mobile money and online lending apps, it is clear that the banking sector faces a huge challenge, which calls for the sector’s embracing of smart communication and customer experience, among others.
So, these applications have eaten into the banking sector products and moved consumers and their money to their platforms, many of which are outside the regulated financial sector.
To this, Agutamba acknowledges the need to prioritize innovation on grounds that the banking sector must understand why more consumers are using nonbanks to do transactions.
Agutamba’s comments are supported by a recent National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) which shows that among the household population aged 16 and above, 46.3 percent of savers used mobile money, 39.6 percent kept cash at home or in a secret hiding and 28.9 percent used to save groups while only 15 percent used commercial banks.
All in all, Agutamba has his work cut out to reinvigorate the banking sector’s communication influence in the economy.
