Omodele Adigun
In line with its determination to redefine registrar service in the country, Africa Prudential Plc has introduced a do-it-yourself registrar service platform for capital market stakeholders.
According to its Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Peter Ashade, who launched the new initiative Wednesday in Lagos, the platform, accessible through the company’s new Unstructured Supplementary Data Service (USSD) code, *4018#, and tagged, “Personal Registrar”, enables shareholders to check their outstanding dividend, shareholding balance and confirm their bank mandate with their mobile phones from the comfort of their homes, work places or leisure.
Ashade explained that, “with the code, shareholders can also check postal and email addresses from their mobile phones, adding that the service is available round the clock, works on all kinds of mobile phones and networks, and does not require internet data.” He added that “shareholders only need to dial the code to access the service environment.”
He noted that the “Personal Registrar” was developed by the company in its drive to persistently pursue exceptional service experience and it is borne out of its culture of excellence and persistent drive to improve investors’ confidence in the market, adding that “we continuously embark on product development and process improvement to deliver exceptional customer experience to our clients across sectors of the economy, while exciting the Nigerian capital market as a whole.”
Ashade explained that at the announcement of the company’s change of name from Africa Prudential Registrars Plc to Africa Prudential Plc in 2017, it was emphasised that the name change did not imply its exit from registrar business but was rather to enable it extend service offerings to other sectors of the economy by leveraging technology, one of which is the just launched USSD code *4018#.
Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom, a non-executive director, stressed that the development of the product was not just about Africa Prudential, but remains a plus for the entire registrar business in Nigeria. And he encouraged other players in the market to follow suit in breaking new grounds.
Mrs. Bridget Bayo-Ajayi, the company’s Head of Business Development, who also addressed key capital market stakeholders at the event, encouraged shareholders whose mobile numbers have not been duly registered on the company’s database to execute a shareholder data update form for their mobile numbers to enjoy the service.
Representing shareholders at the event, Mrs. Bisi Bakare of Pragmatic Shareholders Association, lauded Africa Prudential for putting shareholders’ convenience first by launching the first-of-its-kind product in registrars business.
Recall that the company was named the Best Registrar Firm in West Africa by Africa-Canada Trade Alliance at the 7th Edition of the West Africa Innovation and Excellence Awards in 2017 in recognition of its outstanding innovations and advocacy role in the capital market.