Discussion Group 2: Developing Data ProfessionalsRichard C. van der Wath, PhD (Cambridge)CDO Forum Africa 2016 7-8 June 2016

MYBUCKS – OVERVIEW AND KEY HIGHLIGHTS

FINANCIALBUDGETING TOOL

• Feedback on credit scores, financial history, spending habits to educate customers • Fraud detecting• Show availability of financial products• Rehabilitate blacklisted clients

• Understanding spending habits and monthly liquidity requirements to make smarter budgeting decisions

• Expenses are categorized• Setting of monthly saving goals• Send warnings for projected

overspending

CREDIT REPORT

MyBucks is a Luxembourg-based company with operations in 12 countries (2 in Europe, 10 in Africa).FINANCIAL PRODUCTS PORTFOLIOPRODUCT OFFERING UNDER 3 BRANDS:

• GetBucks: (Consumer Loans) Short-term single payment loans and instalment loans as well as additional value added services such as a credit report and a budgeting tool.

• GetSure: (Insurance Products) Credit, legal, funeral and medical cover.

• GetBanked: (Mobile Banking) Online savings accounts, mobile transactions and transaction cards.

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• Josh Wills’ (Cloudera’s Director of Data Science) famous tweet:

Data Scientist (n.): Person who is better at statistics than any software engineer and better at software engineering than any statistician.

• Challenge: Finding the Unicorn Data Scientists.

• Alternative: Build a Unicorn Data Science team.

• Skills focus: Data Science (Mathematical & Statistical modeling and analysis), Big Data Architecture (Machine Learning, Computer Science), Credit Risk (Financial & Statistical mathematics), Advanced Visualisation, Business Intelligence.

• Challenges• Spotting the fakes (having the right skills yourself helps!)• Be open minded – look at core skills.• Beware of Cargo planeing (We need Hadoop!)

• Get a good recruitment agent that specializes in Data Science!

Unicorn Data Scientist vs Unicorn Data Science Team.

SOURCING DATA PROFESSIONALS

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NURTURING & RETAINING TALENT

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Growing skills• Local & international Conferences• Coursera• Reading groups / meetups• University courses

Retaining top talent• Work environment & culture (Cambridge influence)• Less structure – more trust!• E.g Improbable.io

• Unlimited Vacation“All we ask is that you take your team into consideration and ensure you take plenty of holiday!”• Breakfast & Lunch“We lunch together every day at the same time”• Monthly Socials• Work/Life Blend“We are very proud of our flexible, pragmatic approach to each person’s individual circumstances.”• Town Hall“…whole company gathers for thirty minutes. In that time, we hear updates from selected teams on their recent achievements, as well as a broader update plus Q&A from our CEO”

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richard@mybucks.com