Broadcasting
Businesses must harness the power of conversational experiences to enhance customer engagement and personalisation

By Siddharth Bawa, Account Executive at Infobip
Delivering exceptional customer experiences has become crucial for businesses, with an increasing number of organisations recognising that omnipresence – offering continuous, personalised journeys on customers’ preferred channels – is key to attaining success. By embracing omnichannel communication strategies, businesses can bridge the gap between physical and digital interactions, while also reducing complexity and maintaining a personalised touch. Businesses are thus shifting their focus towards conversational experiences that enable bi-directional interactions.
Research by Accenture shows that nearly 80% of CEOs have changed or intend to change how they manage client engagement using conversational AI technologies, while a study by Deloitte found that brands that lead in personalisation improve customer loyalty 1.5 times more effectively than brands with poor personalisation.
Ultimately, conversational experiences can contribute to successful customer engagement and personalisation because humans crave connection above all else. The need to be acknowledged and understood is driven by our inherent psychological makeup. A case in point was a recent initiative by a local chocolate manufacturer to help address South Africa’s low child literacy rate by deploying a conversational chatbot that enabled learners to access stories in their home language via a mobile device. In turn, children could also submit their own stories to the chatbot, which would be added to the collection. A high engagement rate and the ultimate success of the project saw this being rolled out as a fully-fledged corporate social responsibility project by the company.
Tangible benefits
When conversational experiences are incorporated with hyper personalisation – the process of tailoring a product, service, or experience to meet the needs and preferences of individual customers – businesses can reap various tangible benefits. These include customer acquisition, cost efficiency, revenue increase and marketing return on investment. However, the biggest benefit is customer loyalty, which leads to a long term mutually beneficial relationship between client and organisation.
Yet, despite these benefits, there are still some key challenges that South African businesses face in delivering personalised messages through conversational channels.
For example, in the banking sector, many organisations still have legacy systems. Adapting these systems to current customer experience requirements is proving to be quite a challenge in many cases. Many of the challenges arise from a legacy silo structure which is still present in several banks.
In the realm of customer support, Infobip’s analysis reveals a shift towards seeking assistance on familiar conversational platforms used with friends and family. This shift underscores the preference for instant and immersive messaging experiences, evident in the remarkable 91% increase in WhatsApp Business Platform interactions for customer support. This is where we as Infobip are seeing composable platforms becoming increasingly relevant, as they can orchestrate content from multiple sources and publish it to any digital channel.
It is important that companies adopt an approach that will reduce the complexity of communication while maintaining personalised experiences in a conversational strategy. To do this, businesses should avoid the inherent difficulty of trying to manage multiple different communication channels and instead seek to unify them on a single conversational communication platform.
Key functionality
When selecting a platform for this purpose, businesses should look for key functionality, such as access to a customer data platform where they can orchestrate customer information and craft personalised journeys. They should also seek a drag and drop chatbot building tool that will enable them to generate intelligent, intuitive chatbots that can be used for support, lead generation and cross-selling. Lastly, organisations should also look for a cloud contact centre solution where their clients can transition from automated responses to a live human agent to address more complex queries.
By successfully harnessing these technologies and functionalities, a company should be able to leverage their communication platform to deliver real-time, personalised two-way conversations to their clients.
Seamless agent takeover
While the right technology, such as intelligent chatbots, is key to driving conversational experiences, organisations must also put in place strategies or techniques to ensure seamless agent takeover for a more personalised support experience in conversational interactions. This is essential because people do not want to become stuck in an endless loop and they want to have the ability to speak to a human if they start experiencing challenges in terms of what they want to achieve.
As such, organisations should adopt a strategy where agents can see the dialogue that the customer has had with the chatbot, giving them an understanding of what the customer requirement is. Many organisations now have specialised agents that sit behind the chatbot, so that a specific query can be diverted to someone who is capable of resolving it quickly when the need arises.
Even though technology is thriving and continues to evolve in all directions, we still need to maintain the human touch. Technology and automation are there to assist us as employees and customers, not to take over. Therefore, merging chatbots with the human experience is a balance that organisations need to carefully maintain.
Broadcasting
ACAMB Champions Bankers Wellness with Aerobics Fitness Session

As part of its commitment to promoting a healthier and more resilient banking workforce, the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) is organizing a special Aerobics Fitness Session on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at the Lagoon Front of the Eko Atlantic City.
The session is open to all bankers and marketing communication professionals within the industry and will feature a lineup of fun and energizing activities aimed at boosting physical and mental wellbeing.
With stress levels and burnout on the rise in high-pressure sectors like banking, ACAMB is taking, as it has done over the years, proactive steps to encourage lifestyle habits that support overall wellness and productivity.
Participants will begin the morning with a body warm-up and short walk to get their energy flowing, followed by an exciting dance aerobics session designed to elevate heart rates and lift spirits.
The day will continue with interactive fitness games that promote movement and team bonding, and will wrap up with a friendly but motivating fitness challenge to inspire healthy competition and personal bests.
“Bankers are vital to the financial ecosystem, and their wellness must be a priority,” said Rasheed Bolarinwa, President of ACAMB.
“This aerobics session is a powerful way to foster a culture of health, team bonding, and preventive care. It reflects our belief as ExCO that a strong mind and body, are essential for long-term professional excellence.”
The session is expected to kick off early in the morning to take advantage of the fresh morning air, allowing participants to start their weekend with energy, movement, and connection. It also presents an opportunity to unwind and build camaraderie amongst colleagues outside the traditional office setting.
This initiative is one of several wellness-focused programms ACAMB is rolling out to reinforce the importance of employee wellbeing in corporate and marketing communication and the broader banking ecosystem.
The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) is the recognized professional association for marketing communications and public affairs executives in Nigeria’s banking industry.
ACAMB drives ethical communication standards, promotes internal and external stakeholder engagement, and supports member banks in advancing reputation, trust, employee growth and wellbeing.
Broadcasting
DStv Makes History: Inducted into Brand Africa Hall of Fame as Africa’s Most Admired Media Brand

DStv, Africa’s leading entertainment platform, has been officially recognised as the #1 Most Admired African Media Brand in the Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands 2025 rankings.
This recognition also sees DStv inducted into the prestigious Brand Africa Hall of Fame, a distinction reserved for iconic African brands that have significantly shaped the continent’s global image and competitiveness over the years.
The announcement was made at a high-profile ceremony hosted at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, where leaders from across the African media and branding landscape gathered to honour the continent’s most impactful brands.
Launched in 1995, DStv has evolved from a digital satellite television pioneer into a content powerhouse, transforming the African viewing experience through continuous innovation, investment in local content, and a deep commitment to telling African stories.
“This honour reflects the incredible journey we’ve taken with our audiences across Africa. Being named Africa’s most admired media brand and joining the Brand Africa Hall of Fame is not just a celebration of where we’ve come from—it’s a reaffirmation of where we’re going.
“Our commitment to local storytelling, cultural authenticity, and innovation remains stronger than ever.
“We are proud to be a brand that not only entertains but uplifts and connects Africans through stories that matter.” States Calvo Mawela, Group CEO of MultiChoice.
Each year, the Brand Africa 100 survey identifies the most admired brands across the continent, based on independent research conducted in over 30 African countries, representing over 85% of Africa’s population and GDP, with more than 150,000 brand mentions and 5,930 unique brands.
The rankings are compiled through a rigorous process led by research partners including GeoPoll, Kantar, Integrate, and Analysis, making it the only pan-African, research-led and non-commercial brand equity study of its kind.
DStv’s induction into the Hall of Fame further cements its position not just as a media brand, but as a cultural force that continues to shape narratives and inspire pride across Africa. Through its investments in local productions, partnerships with African creators, and focus on quality storytelling, DStv remains at the forefront of Africa’s growing creative economy.
DStv was also honoured with the same top recognition in 2024, reinforcing its consistent excellence and enduring connection with audiences across Africa. Since its launch 30 years ago with just 16 channels, DStv has evolved into a dynamic content powerhouse, offering a rich mix of local productions, global entertainment, and integrated streaming options.
Today, it serves millions of households across the continent, delivering hundreds of channels and platforms that reflect the diversity, creativity, and aspirations of African viewers.
Broadcasting
The Silent Killer of Great Companies: A Guide To Why Your Processes Will Break (and How to Fix Them)

By Tolulope Obianwu
Every high-growth company experiences a moment when its engine sputters—quietly at first. Emails slip through cracks, customers wait too long, and once-smooth systems start breaking under pressure. This rarely looks like failure; it feels like chaos.

Tolu Obianwu
The truth? Your team didn’t fail. Your process did.
More accurately, the process you never designed to scale.
I’ve led operations and strategy at some of Africa’s fastest-growing fintech companies, building teams and systems that power complex payment infrastructure. And I’ve seen it repeatedly: velocity hides inefficiency—until it doesn’t.
This isn’t just a fintech problem. It’s a scaling problem. And if you’re a founder, operator, or builder, this article is your early warning: poor process doesn’t announce itself. It accumulates, silently, until your best people are fighting fires they didn’t start.
So, before things break, let’s talk about what makes processes fail, and what it takes to build operational structures that scale with your ambition.
DO NOT Confuse Speed with System: Startups are built on hustle. That’s part of the magic. But hustle without design leads to fragile outcomes. What works when you’re a 5-person team becomes a burden when you’re 50. Manually sorting payments, ad-hoc decisions, Slack approvals; these shortcuts become operational debt.
DO THIS INSTEAD:
Build systems early. They don’t have to be perfect, but they must be repeatable. Even lightweight process maps give your team breathing room and build investor confidence.
DO NOT Build Around Individuals: We romanticise “indispensable” team members; the only person who knows how X works. But hero-driven execution is unsustainable. When your process depends on one person being online, awake, or available, you’re not building a company. You’re gambling on burnout.
DO THIS INSTEAD:
Document workflows, spread context, and make knowledge transfer part of your onboarding and offboarding. Structure should outlive talent.
DO NOT Mistake Micromanagement for Control: I’ve seen it too often: leaders respond by inserting themselves into every decision when processes start breaking down. It’s understandable, but counterproductive. Micromanagement is not a fix. It’s a symptom.
DO THIS INSTEAD:
Create trust frameworks. Use process audits, not pressure. Empower teams with clear guardrails, not constant approvals. The goal of an exemplary process isn’t control – it’s clarity.
DO NOT Design for the Happy Path Only: Most processes look beautiful on paper until real users, real edge cases, and real stress tests come in. If your refund process fails when the volume spikes or your reconciliation breaks on public holidays, that’s not a people problem. It’s a design flaw.
DO THIS INSTEAD:
Anticipate failure. Ask “What could go wrong?” Run simulations. Processes must bend without breaking. That’s true resilience.
DO NOT ignore the Role of Culture: Even the best-designed processes die in hostile environments. If your culture rewards shortcuts, ignores documentation, or treats processes as bureaucracy, nothing will stick.
DO THIS INSTEAD:
Make ‘process’ a language, not a punishment. Celebrate people who fix broken steps. Tie operational excellence to career growth. Culture is what makes a process sustainable.
DO NOT Launch Processes Without Data Loops: If you’re not tracking turnaround times, errors, or usage, you’re not managing a process; you’re just hoping it works.
DO THIS INSTEAD:
Instrument every stage. Set KPIs that matter. Let data flag inefficiencies before customers feel them. A great process isn’t just followed – it’s monitored.
Final Thoughts
The truth is: every fast-growing company outgrows its old ways of doing things. There comes a time when velocity alone can’t carry the vision anymore. That’s inevitable. What isn’t inevitable is being caught off guard when it happens.
If you’re building for scale, process isn’t a bottleneck; it’s your runway. The best systems don’t slow people down; they let good teams move faster, with clarity and confidence.
Don’t wait for failure to expose what structure could have prevented it. Build deliberately. Review often. Automate what you can. And above all, make sure your process is strong enough to carry the weight of your ambition.
Because in the long run, it’s not speed that wins.
It’s the ability to move fast, without breaking yourself.
Tolulope Obianwu is a highly experienced professional in operations and technology strategy and currently is Head, Core Operations at TeamApt Ltd
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