GCB Bank PLC has been crowned the best regional bank in West Africa at the 20th edition of the African Banker Awards, held on Wednesday evening at the Kempinski Hotel in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings.
The recognition places Ghana’s largest locally-owned bank among the continent’s most celebrated financial institutions, with 18 winners announced across categories covering innovation, infrastructure financing, gender inclusion and individual excellence in African banking.
The ceremony drew senior continental leadership, including Congo’s Prime Minister representing President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, reflecting the awards’ standing as the premier annual recognition event for African banking.
The night’s top prize, Bank of the Year, went to pan-African lender Ecobank in what organisers described as validation of the bank’s full return to growth, profitability and shareholder dividend payments following several years of institutional rebuilding. The award was presented by former Lifetime Achievement winner Felix Bikpo, Chairman of the African Guarantee Fund.
Serge Ekué, President of the Banque Ouest-Africaine de Développement (BOAD), was named African Banker of the Year. Zambia’s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane won Minister of Finance of the Year in recognition of the country’s economic recovery, while the Democratic Republic of Congo’s central bank governor André Wameso was honoured for building conditions that supported the country’s first eurobond issuance.
Infrastructure deals dominated the awards night. The Red Rocket Holdco renewable energy transaction in South Africa won Deal of the Year in the infrastructure category, the NBET Finance Company’s ₦501.02 billion bond issuance to resolve Nigeria’s power sector debt crisis took the debt prize, and the Arise IIP equity raise won the equity category.
Omar Ben Yedder, Chair of the Awards Committee, framed the continent’s banking ambitions in direct terms. “Nothing significant will move on this continent without strong banks,” he said, calling on financial institutions to walk boldly with business leaders into new sectors and markets.
The Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Bank of the Year Award went to Rawbank of the Democratic Republic of Congo for advancing finance for women-led businesses. Afreximbank won Development Finance Institution of the Year, while Henri-Claude Oyima, chairman of BGFIBank Group, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Now in its 20th year, the African Banker Awards are organised by African Banker magazine in partnership with IC Events under the patronage of the AfDB.
