Editors Note – The following interview was conducted while Max Manzi was Head of Legal & Company Secretary at BRAC Uganda Bank. He is now the Chief Legal & Governance Officer at aBi Finance.

Legal team size of BRAC Uganda Bank: 3

Looking forward, what trends do you foresee in the legal landscape over the next 5–10 years that companies should prepare for?

East Africa is reaching an inflection point driven by three converging forces: (i) data supremacy – region-wide digital-ID regimes, open-API banking, and extra-territorial privacy laws will make data governance the new prudential regulation; (ii) climate-aligned finance – corporates will be judged on taxonomy-aligned lending, climate-risk disclosures, and blended-finance structures that crowd in concessional capital; and (iii) machine-led law – generative AI will commoditise routine drafting, shifting in-house focus from “document production” to “strategic synthesis.” Winning legal teams will therefore cultivate fluency in algorithmic risk, carbon accounting, and agile product design as default competencies rather than bolt-ons.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?

Absolutely—my public-interest roles give me a 360-degree vantage point over the region’s financial-services rule-making. As Chairperson of the Uganda Bankers Association Legal Committee (speaking for 36 regulated financial institutions), I broker quarterly roundtables where regulators, compliance chiefs, and lawmakers turn emerging pain points into actionable guidance. In 2024, I was one of the pioneers of the Judiciary–Banking Colloquium, the first forum to seat Commercial Court judges, Bank of Uganda supervisors, and C-suite bankers at one table; its pilot “fast-track list” has already cut the median case cycle. Wearing my second hat as Vice-Chair of the East Africa Law Society Banking & Finance Committee, I lead a cross-border taskforce that seeks to harmonise rules across six jurisdictions. Parallel to that policy work, I am involved in the ICSA Uganda Mentorship Programme, pairing promising in-house counsel with seasoned mentors; five alumni now head legal functions in East African banks. Whether testifying in Parliament on bills from mortgage refinancing to digital-asset taxation, or coaching tomorrow’s governance professionals, I thrive at the nexus of doctrine, development, and talent-pipeline building.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company?

We act as valued architects. Beyond safeguarding licences and deposits, we map legal risk to the balanced scorecard so the Board sees how a single clause can shift ROE. Our litigation early-warning dashboard cut provisioning by 23%, directly boosting net profit. In short, the legal team is measured not only on compliance but on how tangibly we elevate shareholder value, client trust, and regulator confidence.

How are you bringing the legal department closer to your business colleagues?

I replaced siloed memos with embedded sprint squads: every new product (from digital field apps to agri-finance loans) has a legal “scrum master” at the table from day one. We roll out “Legal in Five” one-pager advisory memos that decode complex statutes into five-minute, snackable write-ups for branch teams. Finally, my open-door “Ask Max Fridays” clinic fosters a culture where colleagues treat Legal as a co-creator, not a gatekeeper. The payoff is visible: faster product cycles, fewer compliance escalations, and a company-wide perception of Legal as an innovation partner.