By Alex Chiejina (With Agency Report)
LAGOS – GT Bank made it a double scoop of awards at the African Bankers Award with the bank’s CEO Segun Agbaje recognised as Africa’s Banker of the Year for his leadership of the Nigerian banking giant and the bank emerging the best innovative bank in Africa. Also, the Azura-Edo IPP won the Infrastructure Deal of the Year on the African continent.
The awards, held annually on the fringes of the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank, celebrate excellence in banking and finance on the African continent. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Awards and the 2016 winners were selected from over 200 entries from across the continent. Since their inception ten years ago, the African Banker Awards have become the pre-eminent ceremony recognising excellence in African banking.
Omar Ben Yedder, Group Publisher of African Banker magazine, which hosts the awards in partnership with BusinessInAfricaEvents noted: “It has definitely been a defining decade in banking in Africa. We have recognised true leaders tonight who are playing a critical role in the socio-economic development of the continent. Finance remains a key component of development, be it in terms of financing massive infrastructure projects that today are being wholly financed by consortia of African banks, or SME financing.
“It’s happening because of strong, bold and visionary leadership. I have been privileged to honour some truly exceptional individuals who have left an indelible mark on the industry over the years. We are very grateful to our High Patron, the AfDB, for their unwavering support in this initiative and our thanks also go to our sponsors: MasterCard, Ecobank, Nedbank, African Guarantee Fund, PTA Bank, CRDB Bank, Arton Capital and Qatar Airways for partnering with us and enabling us to reward outstanding achievements, commend best practices and celebrate excellence in African banking.”
This year’s judging panel was made up of Koosum Kalyan, Chairman of EdgoMerap Pty Ltd; Zemedeneh Negatu,Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Ethiopia; Tom Minney, Chief Executive of African Growth Partners; Alain le Noir, CEO of Finances Sans Frontières; Christopher Hartland-Peel, Principal at Hartland-Peel Africa Equity Research and Kanika Saigal, Deputy Editor of African Banker Magazine.
Below is a list of the 2016 African Banker Award winners
Bank of the Year
Attijariwafa Bank (Morocco)
Banker of the Year
Segun Agbaje – GTBank (Nigeria)
Minister of Finance of the Year
Alamine Ousmane Mey (Cameroon)
Central Bank Governor of the Year
Patrick Njoroge (Kenya)
African Banker Icon
Daniel Matjila, CEO PIC (South Africa)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Paul Fokam, Founder Afriland First Bank (Cameroon)
Investment Bank of the Year
Rand Merchant Bank (South Africa)
Award for Financial Inclusion
Ecobank (Togo)
Best Retail Bank
BCI (Mozambique)
Socially Responsible Bank of the Year
Commercial International Bank (Egypt)
Innovation in Banking
Guaranty Trust Bank (Nigeria)
Deal of the Year – Equity
Naspers $2.5bn Accelerated Equity Offering (Citi)
Deal of the Year – Debt
Cameroon’s Currency Swap (Lazard)
Infrastructure Deal of the Year
Azura – Edo IPP (Fieldstone; Rand Merchant Bank; Standard Bank; IFC)
Best Regional Bank in North Africa
Commercial International Bank (Egypt)
Best Regional Bank in West Africa
Banque Atlantique (Côte d’Ivoire)
Best Regional Bank in Central Africa
BGFI (Gabon)
Best Regional Bank in East Africa
CRDB Bank (Tanzania)
Best Regional Bank in Southern Africa
MCB (Mauritius)