{
  "id": 8217857,
  "title": "The banker helping FNB Connect turn cellphones into gateways to everyday life",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/the-banker-helping-fnb-connect-turn-cellphones-into-gateways-to",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-18T09:04:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechCabal",
    "slug": "techcabal",
    "url": "https://techcabal.com/2026/09/18/sashin-sookroo-fnb-connect-vision/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sashin Sookroo, CEO of FNB Connect, is at the forefront of transforming cellphones into essential tools for everyday life. Growing up in Empangeni, South Africa, Sookroo initially planned to be an engineer but changed his path to commerce, eventually joining FNB's graduate program. Now, he oversees a business that has generated R28.6 billion ($1.8 billion) in customer value and revenue, with mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) data consumption increasing by over 85% year-on-year. For Sookroo, connectivity is no longer a luxury but a primary means for customers to access financial services, work, learn, transact, communicate, search for information, and build businesses through their mobile devices. FNB Connect provides a seamless experience for customers through the zero-rated FNB App, which allows them to access banking services, buy voice and data bundles, earn rewards, and use those rewards across various value-added solutions. Sookroo emphasizes the importance of digital inclusion alongside financial inclusion, highlighting how a connected device can provide access to information, education, work, communication, and markets. The cellphone in one's pocket has become a launchpad for various aspects of life, connecting people to job opportunities, customers, classrooms, and more.",
  "summary": "As a boy growing up in Empangeni, a small town in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province, Sashin Sookroo had already decided that he wanted to be an engineer.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}