By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian fintech unicorn, Flutterwave, has been nominated for this year’s African Banker Awards, which is taking place on May 24 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and a part of the official programme of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings.
Since its inception in 2007, the African Banker Awards aim to recognise the exceptional individuals and organisations driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial services sector. The winners of the African Banker Awards will be announced during the official gala ceremony.
According to a statement, 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, where Ms Yemi Edun of FCMB is nominated.
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.
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 nominees for the African Banker Awards 2023 are:
Banker of the Year:
Mr Admassu Tadesse – Trade and Development Bank
Prof Benedict Oramah – Afreximbank
Ms Esther Kariuki – Co-operative Bank of Kenya
Mr Moezz Mir – SBM Bank, Kenya
Ms Mukwandi Chibesakunda – Zanaco, Zambia
Mr Othman Benjelloun – Bank of Africa
Ms Yemi Edun – First City Monument Bank
Bank of the Year:
Afreximbank
Bank of Africa
Co-operative Bank of Kenya
CRDB Bank – Tanzania
The Mauritius Commercial Bank
Trade and Development Bank
Trust Merchant Bank, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sustainable Bank of the Year:
Absa, South Africa
Commercial International Bank, Egypt
Nedbank, South Africa
Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa
Trade and Development Bank.
DFI of the Year:
Afreximbank
Africa Finance Corporation
Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa: BADEA
Lesotho National Development Corporation
Trade and Development Bank
Fintech of the Year:
Ensibuuko Technologies, Uganda
Flutterwave, Nigeria
JUMO World, South Africa
Lulalend, South Africa
MFS Africa, South Africa
SME Bank of the Year:
Absa, South Africa
Caisse de compensation et de consignation, Tunisia
CRDB Bank, Tanzania
Ecobank, Senegal
KCB Bank, Kenya
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
$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:
Advisory on the US$2.5bn initial public offering (IPO) of ADNOC Gas – EFG Hermes
US$47m investment in Africa Go Green – International Finance Corporation (IFC)
US$298m Infinity Energy equity investment and Lekela Power acquisition – Africa Finance Corporation
R892m (US$55m) acquisition of Windlab Africa’s wind and solar assets I partnership with Seriti Resources – Rand Merchant Bank
R8.9bn (US$550m) evergreen B-BBEE transaction for Shoprite– Rand Merchant Bank
Agriculture deal of the Year:
Launch of a first-of-its-kind AgriHarvest Platform – Rand Merchant Bank
US$100m working capital trade finance facility to Export Trading Group (ETG) – Trade and Development Bank
8bn EGP (US$266m) Syndicated Long-Term Loan Facility for Evergrow – Banque Misr
Syndicated Long Term Facility US$161m General Authority for Rehabilitation Projects & Agricultural Development (GARPAD) – National Bank of Egypt
US$78m funding facility for the Southern Oil Structured Commodity Finance Transaction – Absa
Infrastructure deal of the Year:
$650m equivalent syndicated loan facility to EDF Renewable – Absa
$21.7m Corporate Sukuk issuance for Family Homes Fund – Greenwich Merchant Bank
$1bn 7-year Amortizing Term Loan in favour of a Special Purpose Vehicle (“SPV”) for NNPC Limited Project Yield – Afreximbank
US$900m debt funding facility for Scatec Solar PV plus Battery Storage Project – Standard Bank
US$310m debt package for the Sports and Roads Infrastructure Kigali – Trade and Development Bank
African Banker Awards will also host the first AFAWA Bank of the Year Award which will spotlight the banks advancing the financial inclusion of women across the continent. The nominees for the AFAWA Bank of the Year Award are:
Letshego Nigeria
Fin’ELLE; Rawbank
Letshego Uganda
Oiko Credit
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Dipo Olowookere