African insurtech aYo Holdings has taken the next step in its ongoing technology transformation by rolling out a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to underpin its ambitious growth plans across the continent.
aYo, which is 100% owned by MTN, has more than 16 million enrolled customers using its microinsurance products across Uganda, Ghana, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire, with a vision of growing into the largest financial services technology platform in Africa by providing a range of affordable and accessible micro financial services products.
The company’s new Oracle NetSuite ERP system replaces its previous on-premise solution, which was battling to support the needs of a rapidly-scaling business. aYo Chief Financial Officer Adrian Kloke says the implementation will give aYo the control, agility and cost efficiency it needs to support its rapid growth and capture new market opportunities.
“Having one unified cloud-based platform that is agile and flexible for our business needs today will improve our business operations across the entire organisation. NetSuite will also help us standardise operations, enhance business insights and serve our customers more efficiently from a scalability perspective, and ultimately enhance future saleability,” said Kloke.
The implementation was rolled out by Oracle NetSuite Solution Provider, Linked ERP, which has an established track record of helping businesses migrate from legacy software to the NetSuite ERP platform. Kloke said Linked ERP ‘stood head and shoulders’ above other vendors in the space, making them a natural choice for the project.
“By digitising business processes with scalable and secure business management systems, businesses can support greater growth, expansion, and profitability. aYo has implemented a powerful cloud platform that will provide the visibility and control needed to drive growth and build business resilience,” said Linked ERP’s Managing Director, Carel Bouwer.
aYo’s journey to the cloud has already seen the company embark on a wide-ranging overhaul of its technology back end and data management approach. Last year, it transitioned to a cloud data warehousing approach, using Snowflake as a solution, as there was a need to grow and leverage high volumes of customer data more effectively.
“As our customers transition to a world where financial services are easily accessible via mobile phones and transact via apps and other channels, we need to respond with a platform business model that will allow us to scale rapidly while cost-effectively managing material volumes of nano transactions,” said Kloke.
