Board Profile
- Industry: Banking and Finance
- Headquarters: Harare, Zimbabwe
Objectives
- Digitise paper-based board governance processes to reduce administrative burden and streamline decision-making
- Simplify the board’s access to documents while facilitating better collaboration
- Strengthen security and confidentiality of board information across accounts and devices
Results
- Eliminated printed board packs and enabled faster meeting preparation with digital board packs
- Provided real-time visibility into the latest document versions and notifications, enabling more effective board discussions
- Improved document security through access controls, watermarking, encryption, and audit trails
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is the country’s central monetary authority, tracing its origins to the pre-independence banking institution, the Bank of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Established under the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act of 1964, the institution has been responsible for maintaining financial stability by enforcing monetary policies and governing the sector’s payment systems.
As FinTech and digitalisation rapidly advanced over the years, the limitations of RBZ’s paper-based board governance processes have created challenges around information accessibility and data security, hindering board members from making timely and informed decisions.
These inefficiencies prompted RBZ to modernise its board governance by adopting Convene Board Portal, replacing paper-based processes with a digital approach to board decision-making and collaboration.
The Challenge: Limitations of Manual Meeting Preparation and Document Management
For years, the RBZ relied on emails or printed copies to produce and distribute board papers. This process alone required significant administrative effort and financial resources, especially for meetings where board packs had to be produced for a large number of attendees.
“The main challenges included printing and distributing large board packs, which were both time-consuming and too expensive for the bank.”
Revising board packs also became a challenge, RBZ’s Assistant Bank Secretary, Smart Manda, explained:
“In addition, when revising documents, it was often necessary to reprint certain pages or the entire document. Because one had to reprint, this would cause some delays in the distribution of the documents, leaving board members with insufficient time to review the board packs before meetings.”
RBZ’s paper-based documentation consequently surfaced security concerns, particularly around data confidentiality and document security.
“Maintaining hard copies, ensuring confidentiality, and retrieving historical documents were also additional challenges when relying on paper-based records.”
The Solution: Modernisation of Board Management and Meeting Workflows
Digitalisation was necessary for RBZ to keep pace with the growing need for more efficient and secure board processes. With this need clearly established, RBZ set out to find a digital solution that could address these challenges and support its broader goals of modernising board governance.
“[Our main goal was] to streamline board processes, reduce the administrative burden, improve the security of board information, facilitate collaboration among directors, and ensure that board members have easy access to the information they need to make informed decisions.”
RBZ was particular about finding a board portal that could improve board efficiency, governance, and decision-making. The essential capabilities they looked for included:
- Secure board management
- Ease of use
- Strong security
- Efficient meeting management
- Reliable customer support
As RBZ explained, “We sought a secure, efficient, and paperless solution that would enhance governance, improve operational efficiency, strengthen document security, and provide board members with real-time access to meeting materials.”
Finding the Right Solution: Why RBZ Chose Convene Board Portal
After evaluating a series of board portal solutions, RBZ chose Convene Board Portal.
Describing the decision-making process, Manda said, “The decision was largely influenced by recommendations from board members who had prior experience with Convene. There was a strong consensus that it offered a secure, intuitive, and comprehensive platform that met RBZ’s governance requirements while supporting efficient and paperless board management.”
The Result: Future-Ready Board Governance and Faster Decision-Making
Convene Board Portal is helping RBZ streamline its board governance workflows and strengthen document security. Manda shared that the onboarding and implementation process was smooth overall.
While some board members initially encountered challenges integrating the new technology, the customer support team helped RBZ navigate these challenges and adopt the platform with confidence.
Through comprehensive in-person onboarding and ongoing guidance, the board has come to understand the platform’s intelligent and intuitive features fully.
More Efficient End-to-End Board Meeting Workflow
For RBZ, the most significant improvements have been in meeting administration, document management, and circulation of board materials.
“With Convene, board papers can be distributed instantly through the platform, eliminating the delays associated with printing and emailing documents. All meeting materials are securely stored within the system, providing board members with a centralised repository that can be accessed whenever needed.”
Faster Meeting Preparation and Task Follow-Ups
Before Convene Board Portal, RBZ’s meeting workflows were time-consuming, with the board secretariat focusing on consolidating reports from multiple sources, confirming receipt of the documents, and circulating printed copies.
After adopting Convene Board Portal, Manda confirmed a more efficient meeting workflow, from agenda building to minute-taking and task follow-ups. The Agenda Builder allows them to easily drag and drop documents when creating digital board packs, while the Meeting Scheduler enhances visibility into attendees’ availability. After discussions, the Meeting Minutes feature simplifies documentation, supporting more efficient post-meeting workflows.
“Preparing and distributing board packs is now much faster, as documents can be uploaded directly to the Convene system rather than being printed, packaged, and emailed individually. This has eliminated the need to produce hard copies for most board members and removed the administrative burden of confirming receipt, as the system provides visibility into document access and notifications.”
Improved Access to Information and Collaboration
Board members now have real-time, electronic access to meeting agendas and board papers. This has allowed them to review and edit materials, regardless of location, improving board responsiveness and readiness.
The Document Library centralises all board documents on a secure platform, enabling fully digital document management. Inside, board members can quickly access the latest file versions and annotate sections, eliminating the need for email threads and manual back-and-forth.
“Board members primarily use the Convene board portal to access meeting agendas and board papers electronically during meetings, eliminating the need for printed documents. They can view and download meeting materials, making it easier to follow discussions and refer to supporting documents in real time.”
Stronger Data Governance with Robust Enterprise-Grade Security
Data security was a priority for RBZ in its transition to paperless meetings, and Convene Board Portal delivered on that.
Document management has become more secure within the platform, allowing board members and secretaries to confidently access, review, and share sensitive information in a protected environment. Security guardrails, such as document watermarking, access controls, and encryption, serve as additional layers of protection against unauthorised access.
“The Convene system ensures that only authorised users can access meeting materials and provides a secure environment for storing confidential board records. In addition, the platform’s watermarking capability enhances document security by enabling the identification of the source of any unauthorised disclosure or leakage of confidential documents. This feature promotes accountability among users and provides an additional layer of protection for sensitive board information.”
RBZ Trusts and Recommends Convene Board Portal
For RBZ, Convene Board Portal is not just a replacement for manual meeting workflows. It has become a key enabler of efficient, secure, and well-informed governance for the institution.
Manda described that Convene is a reliable and valuable platform that has streamlined board administration, enhanced document security, and improved the efficiency of RBZ’s governance processes.
Reflecting its impact on both board members and the secretariat, Manda said:
“Board members appreciate the convenience of having secure, real-time access to meeting agendas, board papers, and historical meeting documents from a single platform. The board also values being able to access the most up-to-date versions of documents without relying on printed copies or email attachments.
For administrators, the greatest benefits are the ease of preparing and distributing board packs, scheduling meetings, and securely managing board documents. The platform has significantly reduced administrative effort, improved document control, and enhanced security through features such as access controls, document watermarking, and audit trails.”
As RBZ continues to modernise its board processes, Convene Board Portal remains central to its governance strategy by supporting the bank in daily administration and building a more future-ready governance framework.
Ready to transform your board governance? Book a demo today and discover how Convene Board Portal can help your organisation streamline meetings, secure sensitive documents, and empower better decision-making.