Nigerian banks absent in 2023 African Banker Awards nomination list

By Business A.M.

The African Banker magazine, a quarterly magazine dedicated to banking and finance in Africa, has announced the shortlist of nominees for the 2023 African Banker Awards, scheduled to take place 24 May, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Business A.M gathered that no Nigerian bank was included in any of the award categories in the 17th edition of the annual ceremony,despite being among the top five leading countries in Africa’s banking industry by aggregate tier 1 capital, with operations spanning across various countries in the continent.

On the other hand, Yemi Edun , managing director, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and Benedict Oramah, president of African Export Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) were nominated in the seven-person list for the “Banker of the Year category”.

The 2023 edition of the African Banker Awards is being organised by African Banker and IC Events.  It will be sponsored at platinum level by the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) and at associate level by the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) and Tunisia’s Caisse des Dépots et Consignations, that is managing an important project to support start-ups and SMEs.

The  organisers said the ceremony,as part of the official programme of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings, aims to recognise the exceptional individuals and organisations driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial services sector. They also noted that the ceremony will spotlight SMEs, women and gender, adding that a new category has been introduced to recognise efforts towards bolstering financial inclusion of women across the continent.

“This year’s Awards gala is poised to accentuate the theme of gender equity in the industry, as demonstrated by the substantial proportion of female candidates vying for the coveted title of Banker of the Year.

In addition, in partnership with the African Guarantee Fund, a fresh accolade has been instituted to acknowledge and encourage initiatives aimed at propelling financial inclusivity for women across the African continent, the AFAWA Bank of the Year award. AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa) is a pan-African initiative to bridge the $42 billion financing gap facing women in Africa,” African Banker magazine stated.

According to the organisers, the African Banker Awards nominees were selected from a record number of entries, representing the entirety of the African continent, over a total of 10 categories, and shortlisted by the Awards committee.

The seven nominees  in contention for the Banker of the Year award include Admassu Tadesse, president and chief executive of Trade and Development Bank;Benedict Oramah,president of Afreximbank; Esther Kariuki, head of agricultural business atCo-operative Bank of Kenya;Moezz Mir,CEO, SBM Bank, Kenya; Mukwandi Chibesakunda ,CEO, Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco);Othman Benjelloun,CEO, Bank of Africa; and Yemi Edun,managing director, First City Monument Bank (FCMB).

The Bank of the Year category also had seven nominations which included Afreximbank;Bank of Africa;Co-operative Bank of Kenya;CRDB Bank – Tanzania;The Mauritius Commercial Bank;Trade and Development Bank; and Trust Merchant Bank, based in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.

The Sustainable Bank of the Year nominations include Absa, South Africa;Commercial International Bank, Egypt; Nedbank, South Africa;Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa; and  Trade and Development Bank.

Nominees for the DFI of the Year included Afreximbank;Africa Finance Corporation; Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa: BADEA;Lesotho National Development Corporation;Trade and Development Bank.

Meanwhile, Flutterwave, Nigeria was nominated in the Fintech of the Year category alongside Ensibuuko Technologies, Uganda; JUMO World, South Africa; Lulalend, South Africa;MFS Africa, South Africa.

The SME Bank of the Year include Absa, South Africa;Caisse de compensation et de consignation, Tunisia;CRDB Bank, Tanzania;Ecobank, Senegal; and KCB Bank, Kenya.

Other award nominations and categories for the 2023 African Banker Awards include:

Deal of the Year – Debt

-EUR174m (US$190m) investment in the 44MW Singrobo-Ahouaty Project – Africa Finance Corporation

-R1.143bn (US$66.13m) gender-linked bond (“GLB”) issuance across 3-year and 5-year tranches for Barloworld Limited– Rand Merchant Bank

-US$564m equivalent private placement green bond issuance for GrowthPoint – Absa

-Harmony Gold Company syndicated multi-tranche, multi-currency, loan facility of US$400 million and R4 billion– Absa & Nedbank

-Dual currency USD 292.4 Million, and EGP 1.9 billion Syndicated Long Term Facility (US$400m) to the Egyptian Chemical Industries Company (KIMA) – National Bank of Egypt

Deal of the Year – Equity 

1. Advisory on the US$2.5bn initial public offering (IPO) of ADNOC Gas – EFG Hermes

2. US$47m investment in Africa Go Green – International Finance Corporation (IFC)

3. US$298m Infinity Energy equity investment and Lekela Power acquisition – Africa Finance Corporation

4. R892m (US$55m) acquisition of Windlab Africa’s wind and solar assets I partnership with Seriti Resources – Rand Merchant Bank

5. R8.9bn (US$550m) evergreen B-BBEE transaction for Shoprite– Rand Merchant Bank

Agriculture deal of the Year:  

1. Launch of a first-of-its-kind AgriHarvest Platform – Rand Merchant Bank

2. US$100m working capital trade finance facility to Export Trading Group (ETG) – Trade and Development Bank

3. 8bn EGP (US$266m) Syndicated Long-Term Loan Facility for Evergrow – Banque Misr

4. Syndicated Long Term Facility US$161m General Authority for Rehabilitation Projects & Agricultural Development (GARPAD) – National Bank of Egypt

5. US$78m funding facility for the Southern Oil Structured Commodity Finance Transaction – Absa

Infrastructure deal of the Year:  

1. US$650m equivalent syndicated loan facility to EDF Renewable – Absa

2. US$21.7m Corporate Sukuk issuance for Family Homes Fund – Greenwich Merchant Bank

3. US$1bn 7-year Amortizing Term Loan in favour of a Special Purpose Vehicle (“SPV”) for NNPC Limited Project Yield – Afreximbank

4. US$900m debt funding facility for Scatec Solar PV plus Battery Storage Project – Standard Bank

5. US$310m debt package for the Sports and Roads Infrastructure Kigali – Trade and Development Bank

The African Banker Awards is also expected to host its  first AFAWA ( Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa) Bank of the Year Award. The award, which is  in partnership with the African Guarantee Fund,will spotlight the banks advancing the financial inclusion of women across the continent.

The nominees for the AFAWA Bank of the Year Award include:  Letshego Nigeria,Fin’ELLE; Rawbank,Letshego Uganda, and Oiko Credit.