Ecobank - Afrikan Heroes

WIC Capital Raises $1.6m To Invest In Female Founders Based In Senegal And Côte d’Ivoire

April 19, 2022

The initiative “Women’s Investment Club” (WIC) Senegal and Ecobank have inked a partnership deal worth one billion CFA francs (USD1,600,000) to promote female entrepreneurship in Senegal.

The symbolic cheque was recently handed over in the presence of Ecobank’s Managing Director, Sahid Yallou, and Evelyne Dioh Simpa, Executive Director of WIC Capital Senegal.

This financial collaboration, worth one billion CFA francs, is part of the “Ellever” program, which aims to assist women’s initiatives that promote financial independence for women by simplifying their access to contemporary and appropriate financial instruments.

“Senegal has a particularly developed and dynamic entrepreneurial fabric; nonetheless, access to funding is one of the most significant barriers to growth. This is how the initiative assists female entrepreneurs and business owners,” Yallou elaborated.

According to him, female entrepreneurship has huge prospects, but women’s capacity is underutilized. “We’ve selected a collaboration strategy to ensure that we’re targeting the correct target and the right challenges,” he said.

Evelyne Dioh Simpa believes that by pooling efforts and resources, it will be possible to ensure that SMEs operated by women benefit more and more effectively from the financial support required for growth. She believes that “this relationship so comes at an opportune time for female businesses.”

Launched in March 2019 by the Women’s Investment Club (WIC) Senegal, WIC Capital is the first investment fund that exclusively targets women-led businesses in Senegal and Ivory Coast. The 11 billion CFA franc investment vehicle brings together local and international institutional and individual investors, who pool their resources to invest in micro and small women-owned enterprises (MSMEs) in Senegal and Ivory Coast. The Fund invests through a mixture of equity and quasi-equity in companies from all sectors, founded by women, owned or managed at least 50% by women, or with a management team predominantly female.

Senegalese Waste Recycling Startup E-cover SAS Raises $382k From WIC Capital

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Ecobank Nigeria Changes Baton as Lawal Takes Over From Akinwuntan

December 7, 2021

There has been a change of guard at trans African lending powerhouse Ecobank Group, Nigerian subsidiary with the Bank announcing the upcoming retirement of Patrick Akinwuntan, Regional Executive and Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria. As Akinwuntan is set for retirement in January 2022, upon reaching the retirement age, the Bank has announced Mr Jubril Mobolaji Lawal as Regional Executive and Managing Director-designate.

According to a statement signed by Adenike Laoye, Group Head, Corporate Communications and Chief of Staff to the Group Chief Executive Officer, the appointment which will take effect in January 2022, is contingent on the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Mr Jubril Mobolaji Lawal Mr Jubril Mobolaji Lawal

Mr Patrick Akinwuntan started his career with Ecobank in 1996. He has held various senior and executive management positions in the over 25 years he has spent with the Ecobank Group, during which he had been based in Ghana, Togo and Nigeria.

Before his appointment as Regional Executive and Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, he was the Group Executive, Consumer Banking, where he was responsible for leading the Consumer Banking business across Ecobank’s global network of 39 countries, 35 of which are in Africa.

He managed the Group’s digital transformation journey and has been instrumental in the development of the world-class digital products and services that Ecobank provides today.

Akinwuntan is a seasoned banker who also previously was on the Board of ETI as a Group Executive Director and held the positions of Group Chief Finance Officer of ETI, Group Executive Director Domestic Bank, Operations, Technology, Transaction and Retail Bank, including Executive Director, Retail Bank at Ecobank Nigeria, among others.

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), he also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. He is an alumnus of the senior executive program (SEP) of the Harvard Business school, an honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (FCIB), Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administrators of Nigeria (FICA) and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (ACTI).

The Managing Director designate, Mobolaji Lawal, is joining Ecobank from GTBank Nigeria, where he was a senior banking executive and digital transformation specialist for over 28 years.

He has deep involvement and experience in digital and retail banking, corporate and commercial banking, credit risk management and corporate finance. His previous experience includes being Executive Director at GTBank Plc Nigeria, and Non-Executive Director roles at both GTBank Ghana Limited and Nigeria Interbank Settlement Systems Plc.

He led the team that envisioned and implemented GTBank Plc retail and digital banking strategy to achieve industry-wide leadership over a ten-year period and he introduced new products and solutions that have helped to deepen payments and access to digital financial services in Nigeria.

He was selected and appointed as Managing Director designate following a keenly contested selection process, which included both internal and external candidates.

Mobolaji Lawal holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; B.L. from the Nigerian Law School and a Master of Business Administration from Oxford University, United Kingdom. He has also attended several executive management and banking specific developmental programmes at leading educational institutions including Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).

Commenting on the appointment, Ade Ayeyemi, CEO, Ecobank Group, said: “We welcome Mobolaji Lawal to the Ecobank Group and we stand to benefit from the extensive experience that he has acquired in various fields across banking, which will play a major role in continuing to rebuild our franchise in Nigeria. Nigeria is a key market for us, in which we have seen significant improvement over the past three years as we reposition and leverage upon our pan-African strengths in digital products and services, payments and as the go-to-bank for businesses seeking to grasp the growth opportunities being created by the AfCFTA, across all our markets on the continent. I wish Mobolaji the best and assure him of both my support and that of the entire Ecobank Group.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ecobank, AUDA-NEPAD MSME Financing Program Graduates 200

August 2, 2021

About 200 candidates picked from eight countries for the pilot phase of the MSME Academy under the auspices of Ecobank Group in collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD have graduated. The participants are from Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda and Togo.

The MSME Academy, launched by the Ecobank Group and AUDA-NEPAD in 2020, in the midst of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is part of AUDA-NEPAD’s transformational ‘100 000 MSMEs’ initiative, a continental response to COVID-19. The Academy provides entrepreneurs, owners and managers of micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) with coaching, mentoring and business skills training courses.

Speaking of the importance of the programme, Ade Ayeyemi, CEO, Ecobank Group said: “We had no hesitation in supporting AUDA-NEPAD’s ‘100,000 MSMEs’ initiative. The framework we designed collectively hinges on three critical pillars needed for MSMEs to build resilience in such unprecedented times, being access to capabilities, access to finance and access to markets. The graduation ceremony is another milestone achieved in our journey and commitment to supporting MSMEs and helping them to grow into tomorrow’s larger businesses. My very hearty congratulations to the MSME Training for Financing class of 2021. This is the beginning of wholesome success for your businesses and Ecobank is here to support you in evolving into a major business owner on our continent”.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ecobank Partners Microsoft to Digitalise More African SMEs

July 27, 2021

Pan-African financial powerhouse Ecobank Transnational is partnering with Microsoft with the objective to prepare more African SMEs to be digital businesses. This follows recent developments in the business sphere as the adoption of online business models seem to have caught on as a result of both the covid-19 effect and the mobile phone penetration.

Josephine Anan-Ankomah, the Group Executive for Commercial Banking at Ecobank.

Extended lockdowns disrupted business supply chains, constraining demand and supply and revenue streams. Adopting digital alternatives for offline business processes became necessary for survival.

By 2025, there will be 614 million unique mobile subscribers in Africa, according to GSMA, up from 477 million in 2019. Smartphone adoption is projected to reach 65%.

But how many Africa businesses, especially SMEs, have the right skills and resources to compete in this digital business landscape? Ecobank, through its Commercial Banking department, is joining the effort to address such a concern.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has turbocharged the shift towards digital. It is essential that businesses adapt so that they are able to compete effectively in today’s rapidly changing landscape,” said Josephine Anan-Ankomah, the Group Executive for Commercial Banking at Ecobank.

Ecobank is partnering with Microsoft, which has already consorted with LinkedIn and Github in a similar effort, to power Ecobank Academy to equip SMEs with required digital skills across sub-Saharan Africa.

This partnership is similar to that of Digify Africa and Facebook which provide graduates with free digital skill training and that of Google and Coursera, but free.

“Ecobank’s Commercial Banking is committed to supporting SMEs across our pan-African footprint. Through this partnership with Microsoft, LinkedIn, GitHub and Ecobank Academy we are offering training to equip business owners and their employees with the digital skills that they need to stay connected to their customers. We are intent on ensuring that our SME customers remain relevant, grow and succeed in the post-COVID-19 era.” Josephine concluded.

Prior to the pandemic, there have been a number of incentives to build digital talents in Africa.

In 2016, Livity Africa now Digify Africa joined forces with Google to build one million digital talents in Africa, the relationship didn’t go well and Digify Africa later moved in with Facebook. Similarly, over two million Africans have taken a course or two with Google Digital Garage – a free online digital skill course that issues shareable micro-certificates.

These and many similar programs have played a major role in building digital capacity across the African continent but there is still a huge digital gap begging to be filled.

The program will cover 10 skill sets: Customer Services; Digital Marketing; Financial Analysis; Graphic Design; IT Support/Help Desk; Project Management; Sales; Data Analysis; IT Administration; And Software Development.

According to LinkedIn, these are some of the most demanded skills in the market, especially software development, project management, data analysis and financial analysis.

The programme is scheduled to run until the 31st of December 2021. Participants can enrol and complete courses at their own pace and at times that work best for them.

For Microsoft, the partnership aligns with its process and commitment to building digital talent pipelines to support the workforce of the future.

“Beyond the future workforce, digital talent will also support more local innovation, as developers and entrepreneurs are empowered to create locally relevant solutions that best address the challenges and needs of African countries,” said Ibrahim Youssry, regional general manager at Microsoft.

With the rise of remote work and increased demand for tech talent, digital training could help fill gaps especially in emerging economies like Africa which have a young population.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ecobank Wins Most Innovative Bank in Africa

May 27, 2020

WGlobal Finance has named Ecobank as the most innovative bank in Africa. The announcement was made Tuesday at the eighth Global Finance annual awards, the Innovators 2020, honoring entities that regularly identify new paths and design new tools in finance. Categories in the award include Top Innovations in Corporate Finance, Payments, Trade Finance, Cash Management, Islamic Finance, with Winners selected from different regions of the world. The classes of award comprised Most Innovative Banks in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America and Western Europe; The Most Innovative Fintech Companies in Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, North America and Western Europe; and The Best Financial Innovation Labs.

At the virtual awards announcement, Anita Hawser, European Editor at Global Finance and Lead, Global Finance Awards evaluation team, noted that companies recognized at the Innovators 2020 significantly stood apart. She said the review panel looked at innovation in the context of product or process innovation, as they were ultimately more concerned with the impact of innovation in terms of creating value for customers or addressing a specific need, like speeding up lending or credit review process for small businesses; enabling companies to deposit cheques remotely and not having to visit the branches. According to her, these are innovations that significantly reduce the time or cost of companies to perform financial tasks and really transform customers’ business lives helping them operate more effectively in a significantly challenging business and economic environment.

In his remark, Ade Ayeyemi, Ecobank Group CEO said: “We are pleased to be recognised as the “Most Innovative Bank in Africa” by Global Finance. This attests to the strength of our brand in multiple countries across Africa, our unique pan-African platform, and our innovative banking products and solutions made possible by the success of our digital transformation journey.

With a larger African footprint than any other bank operating in West, Central, East and Southern Africa, Ecobank is the only bank that has banking operations that spans 33 African countries, operating a truly integrated African network. That is One unified integrated Ecobank Mobile Banking App, that works seamlessly across all 33 operating countries in Africa; One Ecobank Omni and Omni Lite serving Multinationals and SMEs in Africa; One Rapidtransfer app that breaks down country borders and allows the diaspora community send money directly to their loved ones, instantly and affordably across Africa; One Ecobank Online Banking platform that can be easily accessed across 33 African countries.

The Ecobank Group’s unique and largest pan-African platform is designed to help unlock the opportunities of the continent, for the benefit of the continent, through standardization, thereby enabling regional integration, and trade and investment across borders. With the Group’s sterling performance, it has been severally recognized as ‘Best Retail Bank in Africa 2019’ at African Banker Awards; Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Africa 2019 by Brand Africa 100; Best Digital Bank in Africa – 2017 by Euromoney Awards; Best Retail Bank and Innovation in Banking both in 2018 by the African Banker Awards amongst others.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

AU, Ecobank Launch Framework to support Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

April 23, 2020

AUDA-NEPAD Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki

To effectively identify and seek ways of supporting micro-small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) which form a large part of individual economies in Africa but have little or no absorption capacity to the effect of the pandemic, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA) and Ecobank Group agreed to collaborate to support small businesses in Africa. AUDA-NEPAD Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki and Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Ade Ayeyemi agreed to drive this continental initiative to support African Micro and Small-Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as they face the economic and social challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The major objectives of this initiative are to create a one-stop platform which will address the issues, challenges and needs of MSMEs during and post COVID-19, and be an all-encompassing, flexible and comprehensive one-size-fits-all tool for MSMEs in the formal and informal sectors across the continent.

The initiative also aims to identify opportunities and innovative ways to support and protect MSMEs and job opportunities, especially in food and agribusinesses, technology startups, health specialized entities and those operating along with supply chain operations, noting that MSMEs account for an estimated 90% of businesses in most African economies; and coordinate and harmonize initiatives and ongoing efforts that support MSMEs to gain access to information, finance, and fiscal stimulus during the outbreak. The platform also aims to ensure that MSMEs have continuous access to national, regional and continental markets while recommending to policymakers, solutions regarding domestic debts as they are projected to face challenges due to the economic difficulties that the Member States will face.

Speaking on the initiative, Dr. Mayaki highlighted that “the COVID-19 pandemic while affecting global economies, will have a devastating effect on African economies and businesses” adding that “AUDA-NEPAD and Ecobank Group intend to jointly build a continental platform based on our initial ‘100,000 SMEs by 2020’ campaign which will provide an immediate response to the potential impact of COVID-19 on SMEs and job creation on the continent”, said Dr Mayaki. He added that AUDA-NEPAD will leverage on its existing instruments, networks, and programmes to gather stakeholders around a digital platform that showcases and monitors the progress made.

Mr. Ade Ayeyemi remarked that the fragility of some of the African economies is more pronounced with the impact of COVID-19 and therefore continental coordination is essential to support national measures by governments to curb the spread of the virus on the continent. He further underscored that MSMEs which form a large part of individual economies in Africa have little or no absorption capacity to the effect of the pandemic. “As a longtime partner of AUDA-NEPAD, we welcome the opportunity to work with the Agency to co-lead this continental platform that will empower MSMEs with knowledge, resources, mentoring, technical expertise and financial support to ensure the sustainability of their businesses during and post COVID-19. The objective of the continental platform is indeed aligned with the Ecobank vision of contributing to the economic and social development of Africa, our home” said Ade Ayeyemi.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

$10k Up For Grabs in Ecobank Fintech Challenge for New Ideas

March 8, 2020

The Pan African Bank, Ecobank Transnational International Group has announced that it will offer $10,000 for winners of its upcoming Ecobank Fintech Challenge. The Challenge which opened in February for applications to African fintechs, will award $10 000 to a fintech for a winning solution that can assist the bank, while the first runner-up will get $7000 and the second runner-up $5000 in cash prizes. The challenge aims to help support fintechs that are ready to scale and provides them with support and access to Ecobank’s 33 African markets so they can grow to become pan-African fintech success stories.

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge offers fintechs the opportunity to integrate with the bank’s offerings and also also offers fintechs the opportunity to potentially integrate with Ecobank’s existing digital offerings. Applications for the Challenge closes on on 12 April 2020 as interested fintechs should submit details of their product as well as a demo to the challenge. These products must address one or more of a specific set of pain points, namely: Customer experience: Ecobank is looking for products that offer solutions and innovations in the following areas: digital customer onboarding, those that improve customer experience at branches, those that improve customer experience online, digitisation of the customer journey.

To win the Challenge, the Bank is looking for innovative solutions that help improve lending to SMEs. It is also looking for ecosystem aggregation which gives the Bank the opportunity to work with innovators offering solutions on SME/Merchants onboarding on payment integration, niche merchant aggregation and those solutions that provide easy access to non-smart phone users. Equally high on the Bank’s radar are digital solutions that help improve performance of sales force as well as solutions that enable agents to offer more services, and fintechs to help solve problems around offline mobile-to-mobile payments (dead zones).

In addition, the bank is willing to consider any other solution that fintechs believe will help revolutionise the banking sector in Africa. Finalists will be selected to participate in the Ecobank Fintech Innovation Fair, while all finalists will be inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship, which will provide fellows an opportunity to explore deals, integration and commercial partnership with the Ecobank Group.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ecobank Wins Africa’s Bank of the Year

December 10, 2019

Pan African financial power house Ecobank has won double awards as “Bank of the Year” and “Best Bank” at The Banker and EMEA Finance Awards which took place over the weekend in London, United Kingdom. The Bank which operates in 33 countries across the African continent has its subsidiaries mop up different awards at the prestigious event.

Three of Ecobank subsidiaries, Ecobank Cameroon, Ecobank Gambia and Ecobank Rwanda had earlier won Bank of the Year at The Banker Awards. This recognition came just before Ecobank Cabo Verde, Gambia, Liberia and Zimbabwe won Best Bank at the EMEA Finance African Banking Awards over the weekend. The Banker is the most prestigious global financial publication and EMEA Finance is widely read by the international banking community.

Speaking on the Award, the Group CEO of Ecobank, Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, said that the Bank is pleased to be recognised as ‘Bank of the Year’ and ‘Best Bank’ in two distinguished award ceremonies in London. This, he said confirms the strength of the brand in multiple countries across Africa, saying that “our unique pan-African platform and innovative banking products and solutions. Indeed, our One Bank strategy is providing the desired banking excellence for our consumer, commercial and corporate customers across the 33 countries in which we operate on the continent.”

The judging panels were impressed by Ecobank’s sound management, business model and strategic initiatives as well as its pioneering technology. They highlighted the bank’s recent innovations, including digitalised trade finance products, Ecobank Online & Omni Lite, digital payment solution, Ecobank Pay, and cross-border remittance solution, Rapidtransfer. These products are transforming the banking sector and empowering African businesses by providing accessibility and affordability.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ecobank Appoints Aissatou Djiba Diallo as New Senior Fintech Advisor

September 24, 2019

As part of efforts to grow its flagship annual fintech initiative, pan-African banking conglomerate, Ecobank Group, has appointed one of the continent’s renowned professionals in the field of information communications technology (ICT) Mrs. Aissatou Djiba Diallo who was before now a senior Fintech Advisor at senior management staff at Microsoft. Speaking on the development the Bank’s Group Executive, Operations and Technology, Mr. Eddy Ogbogu, said that Djiba’s appointment represents an important step in the overall Ecobank Group’s fintech and digital agenda , noting that the expertise, passion and innovation she brings to the role will allow us take the next crucial steps on our path to further cementing our position as Africa’s leading digital bank.

Mrs. Djiba is expected to lead the Bank Group’s fintech initiatives and advise senior management on the banking group’s fintech strategy. Bank sources say that her appointment is an important step in the ongoing implementation of the group’s broader digital strategy and demonstrates Ecobank’s commitment to playing a major and high-profile role in helping Africa’s innovative fintech sector to achieve significant global market share.

Also, her office will focus on growing the bank’s flagship annual fintech initiative – the Ecobank Fintech Challenge and Ecobank Fintech Fellowship – through which the Ecobank group has promoted Africa’s most promising fintech start-ups. The programme which provides selected fintechs with the opportunity to fast-track their growth by gaining a commercial partnership and product integration with Ecobank’s pan-African platform and unified ecosystem. The third edition of the Challenge and Fellowship comes up in 2020.

Speaking on her new position, Djiba, who has served as a Judge of the two previous editions of The Challenge and Fellowship, said that she is delighted to become a part of the vision of the Ecobank Group in supporting the development of African fintechs and further drive the continent’s economic development. Fintech is an important part of the Bank’s goal to vastly increase its customer numbers across its pan-African footprint of 33 countries and open up market access and integration for Africa’s fintech ecosystem. She added that in the past three years, the bank has significantly strengthened its partnerships with start-ups and that she is excited that the Group CEO and senior management of the Bank have prioritised new waves of initiatives to expand the work with fintechs and deliver a whole new level of win-win collaborations that will positively impact African lives and grow African fintech businesses.

Djiba who holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France, and she is an aeronautics enthusiast, before this appointment, she was Head of Innovations at Microsoft4Afrika, where she built the strategy to identify, support and attract key African fintech start-ups and partners to the Microsoft Cloud platform and oversaw 50 countries. Before that she was Marketing Manager and Partner and Strategy Program Lead for West and Central Africa, Microsoft.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Nana Araba Abban Appointed Group Consumer Banking Head at Ecobank Transnational

August 7, 2019

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI, the Lomé-based parent company of the Ecobank Group, announce the appointment of Nana Araba Abban as Group Consumer Banking Head with immediate effect. Nana will be a member of the Group Executive Committee and report directly to the Group Chief Executive Officer.

Nana Araba Abban is a Chartered Accountant (FCCA) with over 25 years’ experience in the Financial Services industry. During her career at Ecobank, Nana Araba Abban has held several senior positions including Group Head of Direct Banking, Head of Client Engagement and Senior Group Manager for Personal Banking.

Commenting on Nana’s appointment, Ade Ayeyemi said- “We are happy to confirm Nana as Group Head, Consumer Banking. She has extensive experience in the consumer banking space in various areas.

Nana, who has been a senior member of the Consumer Banking team in the Group for some time will further grow our consumer business in line with our digital transformation agenda building on the successes we have had in the past. I convey hearty congratulations to Nana on this appointment.’

Mr. Ayeyemi continued: “We are particularly pleased with the effectiveness of our succession planning as we have been able to fill vacancies from within the Bank. We will continue to grow our talent pool.”

Before joining Ecobank, Nana Araba Abban held several senior positions with Standard Chartered Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and other institutions in Product Portfolio Management, Product Accounting and Banking Operations.

Nana Araba Abban holds an MBA, in Business in Emerging Markets from the University of Liverpool and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Statistics from Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, UK.

She is also a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Nana Araba Abban, the new Group Consumer Banking Head had been acting in that capacity prior to now, alongside her previous role of Group Head, Direct Banking.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca

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