Core values are more than a set of inspirational ideas, rather they are the founding principles of a company that support the company culture and create shared expectations amongst employees and what the organization offers their clients. The act of innovating leads to the introduction of new ideas, processes or methods. At C&R Group we establish and cultivate an environment that embraces innovative ideas and solutions.
One consideration was shareholder interactions. Shareholders interact through many touch-points – email, telephone, social media, walk-ins and for accountability and tracking purposes all these interactions need to be accounted for in our records. C&R uses a comprehensive CRM system that provides a centralized, 360o view for shareholder interactions therefore allowing for more efficiency and speed in responding and resolving shareholder queries or requests.
Continuous tech innovation and a focus on process transformation for efficiency and better user experience or participation sparked the idea of developing C&R Digital, a cloud based integrated platform for both shareholder and client online services. The platform houses C&R’s Virtual AGM Portal, C&R’s Client Reporting Portal as well as C&R’s Online IPO/ Bond Application and Processing Portal.
The idea for C&R’s Virtual AGM system started in 2018 coming out of data analysis on shareholders’ representation in AGM’s. Our data analytics indicated that there was missing representation for the middle tier shareholders at AGMs and we considered the reasons why this group were not represented despite having significant investments. We identified the main factors as time (busy professionals) and cost value (geographic distance) challenges so we considered how we could facilitate increased participation in AGMs in an efficient way with minimal time and cost outputs. This led to research into hybrid AGMs as a service solution and the start of developing our Virtual AGM system.
C&R’s Virtual AGM system is a fully integrated USSD and Web platform where shareholders can access and interact with the system from either access mode with all interactions – attendance, voting and questions – fully facilitated through one centralized portal with integrated reporting. Any virtual AGM system also has to allow for the same functionality and security as provided at physical AGMs e.g. attendance verification, one vote per shareholder per resolution, proposals and secondments of voting resolutions, and functionality for live questions. With C&R’s AGM platform, shareholders can access the event at any time on Web or USSD and thereafter view AGM information- AGM Notice, Minutes of the previous meeting, Voting Resolutions, etc – and participate fully in voting and asking questions in written/text format (pre and/or during the AGM event) or live integration from the virtual AGM Meeting Room (during the AGM event). The system equally considers client experience and has centralized client reporting for three key reports of Attendance, Q&A and Voting/Elections, which are real time, fully integrated reports with either a Summary view or a Detailed view.
As we considered other processes/services that could be digitized for better efficiency and user experiences the idea of a digital service platform evolved. In addition to the Virtual AGM system, C&R Digital also houses an Online Client Reporting Portal and an online IPO/Bond Processing system.
Customer support is one of the key business functions that speaks to innovative, digital solutions. On our Online Client Reporting Portal we are able to provide our monthly reports to clients in one easily accessible location where previous reports are stored for ease of reference. The portal allows for interactive data reporting as there is a comprehensive data base supporting the digital reports.
Similarly, when we considered ease of participating in IPOs/Bonds or Rights Issue we noted that the traditional physical processes limit wide and robust participation. This gap created another opportunity for transformational processes leading to the development of our Online IPO/Rights Issue and Bond Application and Processing Portal which allows for the online application, reconciliation and allotment of IPO/Bond or Rights Issue where different parties log-in and process using the centralized system. Applicants/ Brokers/ Agents/ Transaction Advisors and Clients can all log in and access their required functionality such as applications, submission of payment details, verification of payment, confirmation of approved applications and reports access in real time directly from the online system.
With a focus on innovation and being pro-active for finding solutions to industry challenges, we are not only living our core competence of innovation but we are also bringing new techniques, procedures and processes to contribute towards industry development and growth of the East African Capital Markets.
C&R Group offers shareholder management services in Kenya and Uganda including Share Registrar Services, Dividend Payment and Reconciliation services, Physical & Virtual AGM Management services, and UFAA Advisory services. Let us collaborate to grow your business further through our solutions.
