Ghanaian banks dominated the Innovation and Excellence Awards at the 25th Connected Banking Summit West Africa, held last month at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra, with Standard Chartered, Fidelity, Stanbic, GCB, Republic and Consolidated Bank Ghana among the major winners.
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana won Excellence in Cash Management, Fidelity Bank Ghana took Excellence in Commercial Banking, Stanbic Bank Ghana claimed Excellence in Private Banking, Republic Bank Ghana received Outstanding Leadership in Banking, GCB Bank won Excellence in Retail Banking, and Consolidated Bank Ghana won Excellence in Banking Innovation. Prudential Bank Limited was recognised for Excellence in Consumer Banking at the ceremony.
The summit, organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA) and marking its silver jubilee, brought together chief executives, technology officers, cybersecurity leaders, and fintech practitioners under the theme “Next-Gen Finance West Africa: Resilient, Scalable and Customer-Centric.”
Communications and Digital Technology Minister Samuel Nartey George addressed participants, alongside industry leaders from Universal Merchant Bank, Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, UBA Ghana, Zenith Bank Ghana, Ecobank, CALBank, and OmniBSIC Bank, among others. Their discussions covered AI-driven banking, cyber resilience, digital lending, risk transformation, environmental, social and governance leadership, and scalable financial inclusion.
Acting Managing Director of Prudential Bank Ebow Quayson used the financial inclusion panel to make the case that reaching unbanked Ghanaians requires affordable, basic technology rather than high-end smartphones, citing the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) as a critical enabler of cross-border transactions, and platforms such as ESOKO and AGROCENTA as models for digitising agricultural lending decisions.
The Connected Banking Summit 2026 Global Series continues across eight markets following the Accra edition, with further events planned in Asia, the Middle East, and other African markets through the rest of the year.
