I&M Bank transforms from a corporate specialist into East Africa's leading universal bank
I&M Bank has long played a central role in East Africa’s financial sector, supporting corporates, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth clients across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Mauritius (Bank One). But as fintechs and mobile wallets reshaped customer expectations, the bank saw an opportunity to evolve. Its iMara strategy became the blueprint for transformation: designed to simplify customer journeys, move faster, and deliver consistent experiences at scale. Partnering with Backbase, I&M Bank reimagined its digital foundation, combining strategic vision with hands-on control.
>1M
In an AI-driven world, legacy systems don’t just slow you down — they shut you out of real growth. To compete, banks need a modular foundation built for speed, intelligence, and scale.
customers
5 countries
In an AI-driven world, legacy systems don’t just slow you down — they shut you out of real growth. To compete, banks need a modular foundation built for speed, intelligence, and scale.
Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius
Nairobi, Kenya
In an AI-driven world, legacy systems don’t just slow you down — they shut you out of real growth. To compete, banks need a modular foundation built for speed, intelligence, and scale.
is the headquarters
Objectives
I&M Bank’s ambition to become a Tier 1, universal bank required a strategic reset, one that would allow the bank to scale its retail and SMB segments without compromising its legacy strength in corporate banking. I&M needed to build for scale, simplify its tech stack, and deliver consistent, high-quality digital experiences that matched modern expectations.
Solution
To deliver on its ambitions, I&M needed a long-term partner who could support continuous innovation, regional scalability, and full ownership of customer experience. After extensive due diligence, Backbase stood out as the clear choice. Where other systems felt rigid, Backbase offered flexibility through modern, three-layer architecture. This gave I&M the agility to ship changes quickly and scale without vendor lock-in. Its broad capabilities across retail, small business, corporate, and private banking made it fit for both local execution and regional expansion. Just as crucially, it empowered I&M’s teams to take control of their roadmap and own the platform evolution over time.
Results
The transformation is now delivering real, measurable impact: across customer experience, operational efficiency, and business scalability. What began as a strategy to modernize systems and simplify journeys has evolved into a platform for continuous innovation and growth.
Backbase gave us exactly what we needed: control, flexibility, and a foundation we can trust to scale. We can build what we want, when we need it, without worrying about outgrowing the platform.
Backbase
Grow from a niche specialist to a universal bank
Backbase
See how I&M Bank maintained corporate banking dominance while scaling retail and SMB operations to become East Africa's leading universal bank.