• A total of 59 institutions and individuals have passed first round judging and are in the running for the Awards - the highlight of Africa's banking calendar.

LONDON, England -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- African Banker magazine has announced today the shortlist of nominees for this year’s edition of its African Banker Awards. Since its inception in 2007, the African Banker Awards has recognised the exceptional individuals and organisations driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial services sector.

The Award winners will be announced during a spectacular gala dinner ceremony on the 28th May, in Nairobi, Kenya - a part of the official programme of The Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group.

The African Banker Awards is organised by IC Events. It is held under the patronage of the African Development Bank. The Awards' Platinum Sponsor is the African Guarantee Fund, with African Export-Import Bank and Vista Bank as the Gold Sponsors, and the Cocktail Reception being sponsored by African Trade & Investment Development Insurance.

Nominees were selected from a record number of entries from across the entirety of the African continent. For the first time in the Award's 18 year history, three nominees for the most prestigious 'Banker of the Year' are women, reflecting the growing number of female leaders in finance.

Speaking about the Awards, Omar Ben Yedder, Chair of the Awards Committee, also noted the growing role of Development Finance Institutions. “Over the years, we have seen the evolving role of DFIs," he said. "They are playing an important role in structuring transactions and in catalysing development, often filling the gaps in areas that are under-served or under-represented. 

"That said, the finance gap in infrastructure, trade and climate finance mean that the banking sector as a whole will need to be even better capitalised. But looking back at the 18 years of the Awards, it is night and day when you look at the size of our domestic banks and the transactions they are capable of structuring.”

The nominees for the African Banker Awards 2024 are as follows:

Bank of the Year

  • African Export-Import Bank
  • Ecobank
  • KCB Group
  • Rawbank
  • Trade and Development Bank Group
  • Uganda Development Bank
  • United Bank for Africa 

Banker of the Year

  • Admassu Tadesse - Trade and Development Bank Group
  • Anel Bosman - Nedbank
  • Karim Awad - EFG Holding
  • Miriam Olusanya - Guaranty Trust Bank
  • Patricia Ojangole - Uganda Development Bank
  • Serge Ekue - Banque Ouest-Africaine de Développement 
  • Sidi Ould Tah - Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa

Trade Finance Award

  • Access Bank Nigeria
  • Attijariwafa Bank (AWB) Group
  • Bank of Africa (BOA/BMCE) Group
  • Diamond Trust Bank Kenya
  • First Bank Nigeria (FBN)

Deal of the Year - Debt

  • Absa Bank Ltd - 2 tranches valued at TZS 212bn and USD 73mn respectively - Absa - NMB Bank
  • African Development Bank - $117 million The Globeleq Menengai Geothermal Power Project in Kenya
  • Africa Finance Corporation - $1.82bn Project KaMa
  • African Frontier Capital - $500m Brighter Life Securitization
  • Hogan Lovells - $16bn Ghana Debt Restructuring
  • MUFG Bank - €774m Project Strada - UKEF backed loan to support FERA and the Republic of Senegal in its nation-wide road programme
  • Standard Bank - $775m Foschini Group Syndicated Funding Package

Deal of the Year - Equity

  • Absa Bank - $500m Airtel Uganda IPO
  • Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement - $100m BOAD Hybrid Bond
  • Pangaea Securities - $145m Affirma Capital Limited's acquisition of Copperbelt Energy Corporation
  • Rothschild - $1.1bn investment into Mopani Copper Mines plc by International Resources Holding RSC
  • Standard Bank - $200 million Meridiam's acquisition of controlling stake in Kipeto

Infrastructure Deal of the Year

  • African Export-Import Bank - $203m Great Horn Investments Holding “GHIH”
  • African Export-Import Bank - $1.762bn Tanzania Railways, Government of Tanzania
  • African Trade Insurance Agency - €350m Benin Project IROKO
  • Banque Misr - $352.4m Fiber Misr for Telecommunications & Information Technology (Benya Technologies)
  • Hogan Lovells - $15bn Simandou mining and infrastructure project
  • InfraCredit - $38m InfraCredit's Guarantee of Lagos Free Zone Issuance Fixed Rate Infrastructure Bonds
  • Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited - $461m Sukuk Issuance for construction and rehabilitation of critical road infrastructure

Agriculture Deal of the Year

  • Absa Bank - Volcafe Limited $80m East Africa Borrowing Base Facility
  • Co-operative Bank of Kenya - Co-op Bank & Kenya Coffee Direct Settlement System
  • National Bank of Egypt - $400m Evergrow For Specialized Fertilizers
  • Standard Chartered - $692m Ghana Cocoa Board Pre-export Receivables Backed Trade Finance Facility

DFI of the Year

  • African Export-Import Bank
  • Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement
  • East African Development Bank
  • Kenya Development Corporation
  • Trade and Development Bank Group

Fintech of the Year

  • EFG Hermes Holding Val
  • Flutterwave
  • Inclusivity Solutions
  • JUMO
  • ProfitShare Partners
  • Yabx Technologies

SME Bank of the Year

  • Co-operative Bank of Kenya
  • East African Development Bank
  • Ecobank
  • National Bank of Commerce
  • Uganda Development Bank Limited

Sustainable Bank of the Year

  • Absa Bank
  • East African Development Bank
  • Ecobank
  • Nedbank CIB
  • Standard Bank Group
  • Trade and Development Bank Group

Distributed by African Media Agency. on behalf of IC Publications

For further details regarding the Awards, please feel free to reach out to awards@icpublications.com.

To secure your attendance at the ceremony taking place at the Marriot in Nairobi, Kenya on May 28th, kindly register here.