Development Finance Institutions won big at the African Banker Awards Gala Ceremony 2025, recently held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
A minimum of 5 Development Finance Institutions received plaques at the event, which took place during the African Development Bank’s annual meetings.
AfDB announced that the dominance of DFIs like Ugandan Development Bank, TDB, ATIDI, Afreximbank, AFC and Bank of Industry in its 2025’s winners’ list proves the increasingly vital role they play to catalyse investments and deals on the continent.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, was named Central Bank Governor of the Year for making difficult decisions which has renewed investor confidence across Nigeria.
The Finance Minister of Morocco, Nadia Fettah, was also named the Finance Minister of the Year due to her commendable macroeconomic management, which has made Morocco a leader in Africa, especially in terms of economic diversification.
Pan-African commercial lender, Ecobank, also won this year’s AFAWA Award, which recognises banks that regularly support women-led businesses
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chair of the Awards Committee, Omar Ben Yedder, highlighted the private sector and banks as absolutely vital to transforming Africa.
“Thomas Sankara said the ones that feed you, rule you. To paraphrase him, we could easily say the ones that finance you, rule you. We need strong African-owned banks.
The private sector is the key to unlocking scale, and banks are the fuel for driving Africa forward. African DFIs have won big because of the catalytic role they are playing in transforming the investment landscape, as well as working more closely with the African private sector to support SMEs and other asset classes that are underfunded,” he said.
This year’s award, which was attended by 500 of the continent’s leaders in banking and finance, was also graced by the presence of Ivorian sprinter and silver medallist Murielle Ahouré-Demps, a multiple medal winner at world events, as a special guest.
Presenting the African Banker of the Year award to the Managing Director of Ugandan Development Bank, Patricia Ojangole, revealed that she has learned that champions are not made on the podium.
“They are forged in the quiet, unseen moments in the discipline it takes when no one is watching. And as African women, we carry within us a powerful legacy: one of strength, wisdom, and vision. I am deeply proud of that,” she added.
