African Banker Award Winners for 2011

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Winners of the African Banker Awards announced for 2011

 

Almost 300 guests were in attendance at the African Banker Awards 2011 that took place yesterday evening, the 23rd September.  Now in its fifth year running, the African Banker Awards was one of the biggest events pertaining to the continent that took place in Washington DC in the midst of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings.  Arunma Oteh, Director-General of Nigeria‘s Securities and Exchange Commission, Jean-Louis Ekra, President of Africa Export-Import Bank, and Arnold Ekpe, CEO of Ecobank were amongst the esteemed guests which included Ministers of Finance and Central bank Governors.
Dr James Mwangi was declared African Banker of the Year for the second year in a row at this year’s African Banker Awards.  The MD and CEO of Kenya’s largest bank by depositors, Equity Bank, was presented with his accolade at the Awards ceremony that took place at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel.


Standard Bank Group of South Africa, picked up the trophy for the equally coveted African Bank of the Year award, presented by Houda Shoukry Managing Director of the Mediterranean Smart Cards Company (MSCC), the major sponsors of the evening. Nigeria and Egypt having had several banks short-listed continued their success to the final result with two awards apiece.  Golden Sugar Refinery Project, Stanbic IBTC Bank picked up Deal of the Year and FirstBank Nigeria Most Innovative Bank of the Year with EFG Hermes bringing Investment Bank of the Year and the National Bank of Egypt Socially Responsible Bank of the Year home for Egypt.  Both nations also received special commendations, Sale of Orascom Telecom Tunisia, EFG-Hermes for Deal of the Year and Diamond Bank for Most Innovative Bank of the Year.  Mozambique made its debut into the pool of winners since inception of the African Banker Awards with Millennium BIM scooping the prize for Best Local Bank in Africa.  Evelyn Oputu, CEO of the Bank of Industry and one of the most revered businesswomen in Africa and internationally, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and set a new record for being the first woman to receive this particular accolade.


Another milestone came when the central Bank Governor of Uganda was rewarded not only for his work in the past year but for being the architect of Uganda’s economic revival.


As well as the traditional evening of networking and business dealings, guests were also treated to a variety of entertainment with a lively jazz trio performance at the preceding cocktail reception hosted by the Ecobank Nedbank Alliance and a vibrant drumming ensemble to open the show.


Commenting on the Awards, Omar Ben Yedder, Group Publisher of African Banker magazine, said, "The Egyptian revolution has not stopped the resolve with two winners from Egypt. And in fact what these past few years have taught us is that we have financial institutions that have been able to show resilience in the midst of uncertainty and global shocks, something which would not have been possible two decades back. And we are seeing Africans showing the lead – for example new regulation in Nigeria has ring fenced commercial banking from investment banking. And this happened in Africa before the UK and London the world’s financial centre. I’m confident and tonight with the quality on show, my belief is strengthened."


The African Banker Awards is organized by African Banker magazine, IC Events, and BusinessinAfrica Events. It is a landmark event taking place every year during the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. The event brought together around 300 key industry players and top government officials from Africa and around the world to honor the achievements of companies and individuals who have contributed significantly to the reform, modernization and expansion of the continent’s banking and financial system, driving Africa’s sustained economic growth in the process.

 

Winners:

African Bank of the Year
Standard Bank Group, South Africa

African Banker of the Year
James Mwangi, Managing Director & CEO, Equity Bank, Kenya

Best Local Bank
Millennium BIM

Deal of the Year
Golden Sugar Refinery Project, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Nigeria

Investment Bank of the Year
EFG-Hermes, Egypt

Investment Fund/Private Equity Fund of the Year
Actis, United Kingdom

Microfinance Institution/Project of the Year
EB-Accion Savings & Loans Company, Ghana

Most Innovative Bank of the Year
FirstBank of Nigeria

Socially Responsible Bank of the Year
National Bank of Egypt

African Banker Icon
Adebayo Ogunlesi

Central Bank Governor of the Year
HE Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, Governor of the Bank of Uganda

Finance Minister of the Year
HE Situmbeko Musokotwane Zambia
 
Lifetime Achievement Award
Evelyn Oputu

 

About African Banker magazine

African Banker is the only pan-African magazine dedicated to banking in the continent. Launched in 2007, African Banker reflects Africa’s rapidly growing finance and banking sectors. African Banker is published in French and in English to comprehensively cover the entire continent. It has become an essential tool of the people and institutions who pull the strings of Africa’s banking and finance industries. In line with its commitment to banking in Africa, African Banker organizes the African Banker Awards to reward the people and financial institutions that are making a big impact on improving the banking industry in Africa.

 

About IC Events – IC Publications

IC Publications (www.africasia.com) has over 50 years experience in publishing magazines, newsletters, country supplements, industry reports and market intelligence on Africa and the Middle East. Our market leading titles (African Business, African Banker, New African The Middle East and New African Woman) are published in both English and French, with a combined global readership of over 2 million.

IC Events (www.ic-events.net) was established to complement IC Publication’s publishing arm. Together with its dedicated team of specialists and extensive network of contacts, IC Events tailors innovative forums, roundtables and workshops responding to the most pressing issues in Africa and the Middle East. IC Events’ activities are 100% results-driven, bringing together major stakeholders and partners involved in the topics tackled to achieve concrete action plans.

 

About The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)

Established in 1993, The Corporate Council on Africa is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of nearly 180 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. The organization is dedicated to bringing together potential business partners and to showcase business opportunities on the continent. For more information on Corporate Council on Africa, visit: www.africacncl.org.

 

About BusinessinAfrica Events (BIAE)

BIAE is a leading UK based business communication company specialising in live events, public relations, media relations and reputation management for corporate clients, regulatory agencies and governments with a focus on Africa. www.businessinafricaevents.com  

 

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