Yemi Edun of FCMB, Flutterwave and Letshego MFB nominated for African Banker Awards 2023

The shortlist of candidates for this year’s African Banker Awards has been released by the African Banker magazine (www.AfricanBankerAwards.com).

Since their debut in 2007, the African Banker Awards have sought to honor the outstanding people and organizations revolutionizing the continent’s financial services industry at a rapid pace. As a part of the official schedule of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings, the winners of the African Banker Awards will be revealed during the official gala ceremony on May 24 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

African Banker and IC Events are in charge of organizing the 2023 edition of the African Banker Awards. The African Guarantee Fund (AGF), the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), and Tunisia’s Caisse des Dépots et Consignations, which is in charge of a significant programme to help start-ups and SMEs, will all be associate sponsors of the ceremony.

As seen by the significant percentage of female candidates contending for the coveted title of Banker of the Year, this year’s Awards ceremony is primed to emphasize the issue of gender equity in the sector. Additionally, a brand-new award—the AFAWA Bank of the Year award—has been established in collaboration with the African Guarantee Fund to recognize and promote projects targeted at advancing financial inclusion for women on the African continent. A pan-African effort called AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa) aims to close the $42 billion financing gap that African women face.

The Awards committee narrowed down the nominees for the African Banker Awards from a record number of submissions that represented the whole African continent over a total of 10 categories. The following people are up for the 2023 African Banker Awards:

Banker of the Year:  

1. Mr Admassu Tadesse – Trade and Development Bank
2. Prof Benedict Oramah – Afreximbank 
3. Ms Esther Kariuki – Co-operative Bank of Kenya  
4. Mr Moezz Mir – SBM Bank, Kenya 
5. Ms Mukwandi Chibesakunda – Zanaco, Zambia 
6. Mr Othman Benjelloun – Bank of Africa
7. Ms Yemi Edun – First City Monument Bank 

Bank of the Year: 

1. Afreximbank 
2. Bank of Africa 
3. Co-operative Bank of Kenya 
4. CRDB Bank – Tanzania 
5. The Mauritius Commercial Bank 
6. Trade and Development Bank 
7. Trust Merchant Bank, Democratic Republic of the Congo  

Sustainable Bank of the Year:  

1. Absa, South Africa 
2. Commercial International Bank, Egypt 
3. Nedbank, South Africa 
4. Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa 
5. Trade and Development Bank 

DFI of the Year:  

1. Afreximbank 
2. Africa Finance Corporation 
3. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa: BADEA 
4. Lesotho National Development Corporation     
5. Trade and Development Bank 

Fintech of the Year:  

1. Ensibuuko Technologies, Uganda 
2. Flutterwave, Nigeria 
3. JUMO World, South Africa 
4. Lulalend, South Africa 
5. MFS Africa, South Africa 

SME Bank of the Year:  

1. Absa, South Africa 
2. Caisse de compensation et de consignation, Tunisia 
3. CRDB Bank, Tanzania 
4. Ecobank, Senegal 
5. KCB Bank, Kenya 

Deal of the Year – Debt:  

1. EUR174m (US$190m) investment in the 44MW Singrobo-Ahouaty Project – Africa Finance Corporation 
2. R1.143bn (US$66.13m) gender-linked bond (“GLB”) issuance across 3-year and 5-year tranches for Barloworld Limited– Rand Merchant Bank 
3. US$564m equivalent private placement green bond issuance for GrowthPoint – Absa    
4. Harmony Gold Company syndicated multi-tranche, multi-currency, loan facility of US$400 million and R4 billion– Absa & Nedbank 
5. 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 

African Banker Awards hosts first AFAWA Bank of the Year Award 

In partnership with the African Guarantee Fund, AFAWA Bank of the Year Award will spotlight the banks advancing the financial inclusion of women across the continent. The nominees for the AFAWA Bank of the Year Award are:  

1. Letshego Nigeria 
2. Fin’ELLE; Rawbank 
3. Letshego Uganda 
4. Oiko Credit 

For more information on the African Banker Awards or details on how to attend the official Awards ceremony, please visit www.AfricanBankerAwards.com