Introduction
A leading African development finance institution, responsible for fueling industrial growth and empowering local businesses, faced a critical challenge. Its outdated, siloed systems could no longer support the complexity of managing deal origination, investment approvals, and post-investment monitoring. To stay relevant in an increasingly digital economy, the institution needed to streamline its operations, improve governance, and embrace a modern data-driven approach.
The Challenge
Before the transformation, every step in the deal lifecycle, capturing client data, processing approvals, managing contracts, and monitoring investments, was burdened by fragmented systems and manual processes.
This created several pain points:
- Deal cycle times stretched into weeks instead of days.
- Executives lacked timely access to accurate reports, slowing high-stakes decisions.
- Compliance tracking was inconsistent, increasing operational risk.
- Valuable staff time was wasted reconciling data across multiple platforms instead of focusing on investment growth and stakeholder engagement.
These issues were not just operational inefficiencies; they were holding the institution back from fulfilling its mission of driving sustainable industrial development.
Why the Client Chose Mint Group
The organization sought a trusted partner with deep expertise in digital transformation in finance and a proven ability to deliver enterprise-grade solutions. Mint Group stood out as a Microsoft Business Applications Inner Circle Partner and Microsoft Solutions Partner for Business Applications, placing it among the top global Microsoft partners.
Beyond credentials, Mint brought a unique methodology. Its ProActive Engagement model prioritized high-value use cases, aligning technology investment with measurable business outcomes. Coupled with award-winning delivery, robust change management, and strong governance practices, Mint gave the institution confidence that this transformation would be both technically sound and strategically impactful.
The Solution
Mint deployed Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, integrated with the Power Platform and Power BI for advanced reporting. The solution addressed the institution’s full lifecycle needs:
- Deal origination and approval streamlined through automated workflows.
- Post-investment monitoring consolidated into a single platform.
- Compliance and governance strengthened through standardized processes.
- Data insights delivered in real time via executive dashboards.
This digital foundation replaced legacy inefficiencies with a modern, cloud-based system designed for scalability and innovation.
Implementation Journey
The project was delivered through Agile principles and Microsoft’s SureStep methodology. Early phases included collaborative discovery workshops using Mint’s intelligent requirements-gathering tool, to align business priorities with system capabilities.
From there, the journey unfolded in stages:
- Data migration from legacy platforms ensured clean, reliable information.
- Integration of portals improved client and investor engagement.
- Change management and training equipped staff to embrace new ways of working.
- Iterative sprints delivered value quickly, allowing executives to see results within months rather than years.
The emphasis on adoption and collaboration ensured that technology change translated into real business impact.
The Results
The transformation delivered tangible outcomes that reshaped the institution’s operations:
- 50% faster deal cycle times with automated approvals and workflows.
- Real-time data dashboards replaced static reports, enabling quicker, more confident decisions.
- Improved compliance and governance reduced operational risk.
- Freed-up staff capacity allowed teams to focus on strategic engagement rather than admin-heavy tasks.
The new platform provided a single source of truth across the deal lifecycle, unlocking efficiency, accuracy, and agility.
Looking Ahead
With a robust digital foundation in place, the institution is preparing to expand its transformation journey. Plans include adopting AI-driven analytics for predictive investment insights, enhancing digital stakeholder portals, and scaling cloud services for broader operational efficiency.
Mint Group continues to be the client’s trusted partner, ensuring that technology investments align with the institution’s core mission: accelerating industrial and economic development across Africa.
