A bank providing resources within the reach of Dominicans
Produced by Jassen
Pintado
Creative Direction
Omar Rodríguez
Interviewee Ben Domínguez, CTO for Banco ADEMI
Banco ADEMI’s Digital Transformation puts together an array of resources able to fulfill the purpose of offering credit along with other financial products and services to Dominicans. Ben Domínguez, CTO for Banco ADEMI, shared details with us about this process and its achievements
WOULD YOU BRIEFLY SHARE WITH US SOME DETAILS ABOUT BANCO ADEMI?
The Association for the Development of Micro-enterprises, Inc. (ADEMI), a private, non-profit institution, began operations on April 1st, 1983 in the most vulnerable sectors of the city of Santo Domingo with the main purpose of creating employment through financial assistance for micro- and medium-sized enterprises.
In 1997, the Monetary Board authorized the entity to become Banco de Desarrollo ADEMI, S.A. (ADEMI Development Bank), led by its founding president, don Camilo Lluberes Henríquez, starting operations in 1998.
As part of its transformation process, in 2005 it was authorized by the Monetary Board to become a savings and credit bank.
Since May 2013, the bank is authorized to offer every product and service that multiple services banks in the Dominican Republic provide.
Along the years, Banco Múltiple ADEMI, S.A. (ADEMI Multiple Bank) has been in a solid position in the microfinance segment as a financial entity able to maintain constant innovation in its product and services offer, adapting them to its customers’ needs. The wide experience of its main stockholders along with its operational model has allowed its consolidation
as the largest bank in the country servicing micro-, small and mediumsized enterprises.
After operating for 40 years, a workforce of more than 1,500 collaborators and a portfolio consisting of more than 300,000 customers, the bank has strengthened its value proposition through 74 locations countrywide, creating a close relationship with Dominicans, and catering to their needs along their journey to be included into the financial system.
From its beginnings, Banco ADEMI has relied on the support of institutions such as the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as the Dominican private sector.
The bank has more than $323 billion in assets, a deposit portfolio of almost $275 billion and a credit portfolio of $244 billion, and the
BANCO ADEMI HAS RELIED ON THE SUPPORT OF INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS THE EIB, THE IDB, AS WELL AS THE DOMINICAN PRIVATE SECTOR
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Ben Domínguez, CTO for Banco ADEMI
average amount of loans among customers is around $1,500. This financial entity also stands out as a top reference in the financial market in Dominican Republic:
• 19.93 percent solvency index, for 2nd place
• 5.03 percent ROI, for 1st place
• 25.63 percent ROE, for 5th place
WHICH FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DOES BANCO ADEMI OFFER? WHICH SEGMENTS
COMPRISE THE BANK’S MAIN CUSTOMERS?
In Banco ADEMI, we drive our clients to the fulfillment of their goals and contribute to their businesses’ growth with help from financial products and services catering to owners of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in industries such as manufacturing, commerce and services, even if an entrepreneur isn’t formally registered as a business or a natural entity yet.
Our portfolio consists of credit, savings and investment products, such as:
• Personal Loans: Purchases, Vehicles, Educational, Home Improvement and Mortgage
• SME Loans: Microcredit, Commercial, Agricultural and Clean Energy
• Credit Lines: Commercial
and Factoring
• Credit Cards: Persons and Business
• Savings Accounts: in Pesos and U.S. dollars
• Transaction Accounts
• Certificates in Pesos and U.S. dollars
• Time Deposits
We also offer a wide array of services such as:
• Bank insurance
• Remittances
• Foreign currency
• Services/utilities payments
As part of our social impact strategy, we provide loans from $90 to enable our customers’ access to working capital, cover their business’ needs and achieve their growth plans. We contribute to the agricultural industry by offering loans able to help farmers during their crop cycles.
Also, our Housing Improvement program directly impacts Dominicans’ quality of life and micro-enterprise business owners, supporting them in the rebuilding and remodeling projects for home or business.
On a different front, we reinforce our commitment and sustainability strategy via the ADEMI Foundation, by allocating funds to finance clean energy projects.
WHAT WAS BANCO ADEMI LIKE BEFORE BEN DOMÍNGUEZ AND WHERE IS IT HEADING AFTER BEING NAMED CTO?
As I took over this role, I could detect crucial points that had to be reinforced in the Tech area, which possessed a rather operational approach rather than a strategic one, with scarce alignment toward best practices and agile methodologies.
Our goal in this tenure is to develop a team with a strategic
approach, aiming to service, innovation and continual improvement of tech processes, enabling us to provide value to the operation and support the initiatives in our Digital Transformation plan.
This new approach and reorganization imply a great challenge which we take on with commitment and enthusiasm.
OUR GOAL IN THIS TENURE IS TO DEVELOP A TEAM WITH A STRATEGIC APPROACH, AIMING TO SERVICE, INNOVATION AND CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT OF TECH PROCESSES
- Ben Domínguez, CTO for Banco ADEMI
WHAT SETS APART BANCO ADEMI FROM THE COMPETITION? WHAT MAKES CUSTOMERS CHOOSE BANCO ADEMI?
Since 40 years ago, we have supported the entrepreneurial spirit and offered a hand to Dominican families, with a groundbreaking array of financial products for micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses, driving the economic development and projects of the country’s most vulnerable population.
The ADEMI family consists of more than 1,500 collaborators wearing their hearts on their sleeve with the mission of transforming the lives of Dominicans, one success story at a time.
WHICH ARE THE MAIN GOALS CONSIDERED IN THE BANK’S DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION AND INNOVATION PLANS?
We’ve perceived the way the game
has changed in our context, which has thrust us into an imminent Digital Transformation process.
As a result of a clear understanding of our environment, the firm decision to create an Innovation Committee was taken, this committee outlined the patterns and led the way of our new strategic plan with important innovation elements. Among the key guidelines in our new strategic plan, Agile Governance emerges to prioritize decisions guaranteeing that our efforts be carried out in a proper, coordinated and timely manner. We have created an express lane guaranteeing our processes’ speed and results.
Our goal is to remain in the leadership of microfinance development, contributing to our customers’ growth through innovative, easy to access solutions that allow them to choose products and services through the best digital channels.
IN WHAT MEASURE HAVE YOU SET FIXED OR CONTINUAL OBJECTIVES WITHIN THIS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND WHICH GOALS HAVE BEEN SET TO BE ACHIEVED DURING A DETERMINED PERIOD?
Digital Transformation is a continual process. We engaged in a neverending journey, we will continue to transform ourselves to achieve higher efficiency levels in the quest to offer the best experience.
WHICH SHORT-, MID- AND/OR LONG-TERM PLANS FROM BANCO ADEMI WOULD YOU SHARE WITH US?
Towards the end of 2021 we developed the new strategic plan with 2024 in sight, which establishes the essential guidelines being
implemented in the institution. The plan’s main points are aimed toward customers, efficiency, operational and technological abilities, and talent.
With this plan we are looking to transform ourselves without resigning to our essence and mission, to become digitized without leaving behind those with less advantages, to get rid of paperwork and find our path to becoming an agile organization designed toward innovation, and be able to find and develop the required talent.
Twenty twenty-two was a key year to develop tech abilities, the innovations we’ll be deploying and the talent’s adaptability.
In the same way, with the purpose of becoming our customers’ main partner, we’ve offered them a wide array of channels to simplify their
day-to-day operations, with the ADEMI app and ADEMI Online digital platforms among them, with a 70 percent enrollment rate and 29 percent transaction rate, compared to 2021.
WOULD YOU SHARE A FEW FACTS ABOUT YOUR CAREER IN RESPECT TO YOUR EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE AND AWARDS, AS WELL AS OTHER ACCOLADES?
My higher education started by enrolling into Information Systems Engineering. Afterwards I earned an MBA from UQAM (University of Quebec in Montreal).
I possess more than 25-year experience in finance, specifically in the Tech and Operations areas. In my career, I’ve led multidisciplinary teams into achieving strategic goals,
optimizing quality and efficiency indexes. I’ve taken part in bank merging and been a key element in projects engaging in processes and systems reengineering, core deployments for banking, credit cards, PeopleSoft ERP, BPM, and new location operations model, among others.
FOUNDED: 1983
INDUSTRY: Financial CONTACT: bancoademi.com.do bedominguez@bancoademi.com.do
