NAIROBI, Kenya, 29 May 2024 /African Media Agency (AMA)/- The most prestigious event in the African banking calendar, the African Banker Awards Gala Ceremony 2024, took place last night at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings. The ceremony was attended by over 300 of the continent’s leading figures in banking and finance.
Now in its 18th edition, the African Banker Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals and institutions that have contributed significantly to the growth and development of Africa’s banking sector over the past year. This year’s awards ceremony in particular saw DFIs triumph, enjoying successes, in both institutional and individual categories, and representing the increased growth they enjoy in the African financial ecosystem.
In his speech, Omar Ben Yedder, chair of the Awards Committee noted that banks and financial institutions are going through an important transition and are playing a critical role in financing growth especially with the retreat of international banks from the continent: “We are seeing a coalition of DFIs taking shape and these will have to see considerable capital increases to plug the gap in infrastructure, trade, climate and also SME Financing. These will have to be supported by policy makers in an even more meaningful way. We’re also seeing further reform and new capital requirements for banks. This will lead to bigger banks and we have seen how the likes of UBA, Access, Zenith and GTB in Nigeria for example play a role in financing big conglomerates and large infrastructure projects, something unimaginable two decades ago.”
Winners of the 2024 edition of the African Banker Awards, in Nairobi, Kenya
Vincent Nmehielle, Secretary General of the African Development Bank, said that this year’s Annual Meetings were some of the best attended and this showed the convening power of the Bank and how it can bring key stakeholders together to drive the continent’s development.
SME financing was cited by many as the fastest growing and most important asset class. Jules Ngankam, Group CEO of the African Guarantee Fund, called for banks to do even more in this sector that had been consistently profitable across the board, be it in agriculture, manufacturing and including in lending to youth and women, two underserved segments.