Absa has announced a significant renewal of its long-term strategic collaboration with Salesforce, through a new three-year agreement that will support the bank’s increased focus on artificial intelligence, automation and real-time data insights to create a more personalized and efficient banking experience for customers.
The agreement spans various business divisions with plans for wider deployment across the group's African regions. The renewed agreement strengthens Absa’s position as a leader in the continent in digital innovation supported by the pioneering use of generative AI.
Over the next three years, the collaboration will focus on a number of key technology capabilities across the group including AgentForce, Data Cloud and Loyalty Cloud.
As part of the expanded collaboration, Absa cements its leading position as the first bank in Africa to deploy Salesforce AgentForce. This cutting-edge capability has gone live with “Abby”, an intelligent AI chat agent now operating across the Absa Banking app and website, enabling fast, intuitive access to information without the need to navigate extensive content. Additionally, on the Absa Business Banking website, AB can support customers in all 11 official South African languages.
“This renewed collaboration reflects Absa’s continued focus on customer-centric, data-driven transformation and enables us to deliver on our promise of bringing possibilities to life for our customers across Africa,” said Thato Matolong, Chief Information Officer, Personal and Private Banking at Absa Group.
Since 2023, Absa has been a regular presenter at Salesforce Dreamforce, one of the world's largest software conferences, at the flagship event in both San Francisco USA and South Africa. These exhibits showcase the bank's ongoing innovation journey from AI integration to customer experience transformation.
“Being a regular presenter at global Dreamforce events shows that Absa is recognized on the world stage,” said Matolong. Locally, it demonstrates undisputed leadership within the South African market. This combination translates into global credibility and local leadership.
Absa's leading innovation has been recognized through numerous industry accolades, including the AI Trailblazer Award and the Connected Data Award at the Salesforce South Africa Customer Awards.
Linda Saunders, Country Manager and Sr. Director Solutions Engineering Africa Salesforce said: “Absa truly epitomizes what it means to be an AI-powered enterprise, and we are proud to deepen our collaboration as they continue to lead digital banking across Africa. Seeing AgentForce come to life through ‘AB’ and serving customers in all 11 official South African languages is a powerful demonstration of how AI can be localized to create real impact. We are proud of Absa. “Look forward to supporting the ambitions as they drive innovation across the continent.”
The Salesforce platform is now deeply embedded in Absa's daily operations, with approximately 15,000 associates actively using Salesforce across all business groups, covering both frontline teams and back-office operations. This widespread adoption demonstrates the platform's role as an enterprise tool, not just a niche application.
As committed to in our Employee Value Proposition (EVP), Absa continues to invest strongly in building its workforce; Colleagues have achieved to date 495 active salesforce certificateThis number is increasing as organizations accelerate their AI-enabled skill development.
By expanding the Salesforce collaboration, Absa aims to further leverage AI and data connectivity to deliver personalized, efficient banking services across the continent.
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