Living up to the Fund’s purpose in a volatile environment

Head of Marketing and Communications
Barbra Teddy Arimi

Material Matters
Strategic Objectives
Stakeholders
Capitals
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Our Purpose is to make lives better. We passionately dedicate ourselves to making saving a way of life, to enable more and more people improve their well-being.

The million-dollar question for us at the onset of this fiscal year was “Do staff members believe in the Fund’s purpose and does this translate into a better life for our members given our volatile operating environment?

This year’s operating environment has been characterised by changing customer needs, increasing digitalisation, slower economic growth rates of 3 to 3.8%, in comparison to 6.8% in 2019; increasing unemployment rates at 2.44%, which was a 0.72% increment from 2019 and Pension reforms.

Staff alignment to the delivery of the Funds purpose

This year we launched an internal campaign to enable staff members appreciate how each one’s role contributes to the fulfilment of our purpose. A total of 86% of staff members participated in the Campaign which culminated into a poetry competition. Post the campaign, staff were interviewed and 99% of them affirmed that their jobs are aligned to delivering the Fund’s purpose. The key aspect to look out for would therefore be whether this alignment translates into a better life for the Fund’s members.

Translation of the Funds purpose into a better life for our members

A better life means different things for the Fund’s diverse member segments as evidenced in a recent survey of 1500 members. Findings indicated that; social security needs varied by age groups. Whilst all age groups rated a comfortable retirement as their number 1 social security need, the second most important need varied across age groups, with the younger members opting for education and housing, while older members opted for access to health care.

We are cognisant of the fact that some of these benefits will be provided when the NSSF Amendment Bill is enacted into law, however we continue to work towards the fulfilment of our purpose, and I am glad to report that we have achieved the following this fiscal year:

  • Rolled out our e-channels (e-channel to walk in ratio of 94:6)
  • Expanded our agency network to 635 agents through our partnership with Agency Banking company, Housing Finance Bank and DFCU bank.
  • Held our first hybrid Annual Members Meeting and registered 33,000 members in attendance in comparison to 1,500 for previous physical meetings.
  • Held our first ever virtual Career Expo with 4,612 attendees and 612 enrolments with NSSF.
  • Renovated four classroom blocks with the proceeds from the Hash run and donated equipment to Nakasero blood bank.

Way forward

Upon enactment of the NSSF Amendment Bill into law, we will reposition NSSF as a Fund for all and roll out additional benefits in consultation with the Board. Other exciting initiatives to focus on include:

  • Aligning our digital strategy to our customer journey, from enrolment to exit
  • Continuing to leverage on virtual platforms to conduct events, like the Annual Members Meeting, Career Expo, Financial literacy.
  • Rolling out a transactional smart card that enables members to access NSSF services while anchoring the loyalty programme.
  • Revamping our NSSF Go App, from functional to lifestyle by making it a financial fitness app that can be used for budgeting, investments, and financial literacy.

View the 'Our Stakeholders' write-up