Afreximbank, BCA honour Dangote, First Bank, others
By Bolaji Adebiyi in Accra, Ghana
President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Nigeria’s pioneer bank, First Bank of Nigeria, were some of the business leaders honoured at the inaugural Pan-African Business and Development Awards held Monday night at the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana.
The awards were instituted by the Bank in association with the Business Council for Africa, to celebrate and recognise the excellence of outstanding organisations and individuals within the African business and finance sectors.
Zimbabwe’s business mogul, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, and his Togolese counterpart, Mr. Koffi Djondo; telecoms giant, MTN; Egypt’s EISewedy; and Ethiopian Airlines were also recognised for their outstanding contributions to Africa’s business and industry.
According to the organisers, Dangote, who recently unveiled his $19 billion refinery and petrochemical plant in Lagos, the largest in Africa, was awarded the Afreximbank Founder of the Year in recognition of his extraordinary achievements in building one of Africa’s leading industrial groups with a truly pan-African footprint.
Masiyiwa got on the bill for founding Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which has the largest network of fibre optic cables on the continent, and Cassava Technologies as well as Econet, the largest telecoms and mobile payment operator in Zimbabwe.
Djondo, they said, helped found Ecobank, the leading African group in terms of footprint, and the regional airline, Asky.
The Pan-African Business of the Year was clinched by Ethiopian Airlines, which the organisers said had had phenomenal success, and had showcased the best of Africa, adding that it was not only a profitable but also a well-run airline that rose up to the challenge of Covid-19, working alongside Afreximbank and the Africa CDC to distribute critical medical equipment and vaccines across the continent.
The MTN and ElSewedy were given awards in the Special Recognitions category. MTN was recognised for transforming the African telecoms sector while ElSewedy picked the award for its role in the African infrastructure sector.
ElSewedy and Afreximbank, stated the organisers, had built a strong relationship that had seen the group become a true continental champion and part of a consortium of African banks and private sector companies that were building the multi-billion dollar Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project in Tanzania.
Three banks, including the National Bank of Egypt, First Bank of Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire’s Coris Bank were chosen based on the volume of trade finance facilities they had utilised.
Eight recognition awards were also handed to some staff members of Afreximbank, including President and Chairman of the Board, Prof. Benedict Oramah, who has been at the Bank for over 29 years, to acknowledge their long service at the Bank.
An elated Oramah told the quality audience that included business and political leaders across Africa and the Caribbean, “Tonight we are recognising so many outstanding leaders. Having joined the Bank in 1994, I have been fortunate to have worked with so many of them, and to have seen them grow. We have supported them during this journey and they have helped make the Bank what it is today. These are the mutually beneficial partnerships that will help transform the continent we so love. At Afreximbank, contributing to Africa’s development is a lifetime vocation, as I know it is for all those that we have recognised tonight.”
For the Chair of the BCA and former Group CEO of Ecobank, Mr. Arnold Ekpe, “Too often our business leaders do not get the praise they deserve. Succeeding in business on the continent is not always easy, but it is rewarding and more importantly it is possible to build strong, profitable businesses that are globally competitive. Our winners tonight have demonstrated this.”
This year’s annual meeting, which comes to a close tomorrow, coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Pan-African financial institution.
