Banking
Wigwe, Finance Minister Win African Banker Awards 2020
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Bank, Mr Herbert Wigwe, and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, have emerged winners at the 2020 edition of the African Banker Awards.
The award ceremony held virtually on Wednesday was shifted to August to coincide with the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings taking place this week, with the election of the president of the bank expected on Thursday.
Considered as the Oscars of the African banking community, the big winners this year were Access Bank and women in the banking and finance sector.
Mr Wigwe won this year’s African Banker of the Year. He was awarded due to the bank’s growth and expansion, including the oversight of the takeover of Diamond Bank, a bank that was much bigger than Access Bank less than 15 years ago.
Access Bank also won Agriculture deal of the year, in its role to help Olam develop its rice operations in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s minister of finance, budget, and non-planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, won the Finance Minister of the Year. According to the organisers, Mrs Ahmed managed to push through a set of difficult reforms as well as successfully engaging international partners to help the country navigate an extremely challenging economic environment.
The Central Bank Governor of the year went to Mrs Caroline Abel, from Seychelles.
African Banker Icon was given to Mrs Vivien Shobo, who was the CEO of ratings and advisory firm, Agusto & Co up until last December. She was recognised for playing an instrumental role in developing Nigeria’s credit markets and also for helping grow a truly world-class organisation that is competing against much better resourced international players.
Extending Nigeria’s feat, The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) bank of the year went to Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI) while MTN Nigeria’s initial public offering through Chapel Hill Denham won the deal of the year (equity)
Tunisian pioneer, Mr Ahmed Abdelkefi won the Lifetime Achievement Award. The businessman was the founder of numerous businesses operating in leasing, brokerage and investment banking. He also founded private equity group, Tuninvest, and then launched Africinvest, one of Africa’s most successful Africa-owned PE firms.
Trade and Development Bank (TDB) won Bank of the Year. Incidentally, its CEO, Mr Admassu Tadesse, won Banker of the Year at last year’s ceremony.
The organisers added a number of awards this year to reflect the AfDB’s High Fives Agenda. The energy deal of the year went to a renewable energy bond structured by Nedbank and infrastructure deal of the year went to the Port of Maputo in a transaction led by Standard Bank.
Commenting on this year’s awards, Mr Omar Ben Yedder, Publisher of African Banker said: “It’s been a momentous year in every sense. Banks will have to play a lead role in kick-starting post-COVID growth and sustaining the real economy.
“Governments and regulators have done an excellent job with limited means and both our winners Caroline Abel and Zainab Ahmed have demonstrated strong leadership there. Banks will need to work with institutions and partners to ensure liquidity doesn’t dry up.
“To quote our Lifetime Achievement Winner: Keep moving forward: adapt, innovate, take risks. That’s your job. Today’s crisis is neither the first and it will not be the last.”
The awards, which are held under the high patronage of the African Development Bank, are sponsored by the African Guarantee Fund as Platinum Sponsor, the Bank of Industry as Gold Sponsor and Moza Banco as Associate Sponsor.
A full glance at the winners:
African Banker of the Year: Herbert Wigwe, Access Bank
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ahmed Abdelkefi, Founder Tunisie Leasing; Tuninvest; Tunisie Valeurs
African Banker Icon: Vivien Shobo, Former CEO Agusto & Co.
African Bank of the Year: Trade and Development Bank (TDB)
Minister of Finance of the Year: Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance of Nigeria
Central Bank Governor of the Year: Mrs Caroline Abel, Central Bank Governor of Seychelles
Investment Bank of the Year: Citi
Award for Financial Inclusion: Kenya Women Microfinance
SME Bank of the Year: Bank of Industry, Nigeria
Socially Responsible Bank of the Year: Equity Bank, Kenya
Innovation in Banking: Ecobank
Deal of the Year – Equity: MTN Nigeria IPO – Chapel Hill Denham
Deal of the Year – Debt: Bank of Industry €1bn syndicated senior loan facility – Bank of Industry / Afreximbank/ Credit Suisse
Infrastructure Deal of the Year: Port of Maputo – Standard Bank
Energy Project of the Year: Renewable Energy Bond – Nedbank
Agri Deal of the Year: Olam Rice Farm – Access Bank
Regional Banks of the Year:
East Africa – Equity Bank
West Africa – Coris
North Africa – CIB, Egypt
Southern Africa – Moza Banco
Central Africa – BGFI, Gabon.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A collaboration to enable fast money transfers into Nigeria has been entered into between Flutterwave and Xoom, PayPal’s international digital money transfer service.
The partnership allows Xoom transfers to be converted by Flutterwave and settled locally in Naira, enabling quick transfers directly into recipients’ bank accounts at Access Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, and additional participating banks across Nigeria.
The deal also enables Xoom’s global network with Flutterwave’s local payout infrastructure, allowing users globally to send funds directly into Nigerian bank accounts with improved speed and efficiency.
Nigeria is the leading remittance recipient in Sub-Saharan Africa, receiving over $20 billion in personal remittances in 2024. Despite this volume, receiving international payments has historically remained complex due to FX constraints and settlement delays. This collaboration helps address those challenges in a market of more than 232 million people, where the ICT sector is projected to contribute 21 per cent of GDP by 2027.
By combining Xoom’s expansive reach with Flutterwave’s local compliance and banking partnerships, the two companies are providing a more accessible financial corridor for the continent.
Xoom, a PayPal service, is a fast and secure international digital money transfer service that enables consumers to send money, pay bills, and reload phones for friends and family in approximately 160 markets globally.
As part of PayPal’s global payments ecosystem, Xoom leverages advanced fraud protection, compliance capabilities, and a trusted global network to help millions of customers move money quickly and securely across borders.
“We’re excited to have been chosen by Xoom for their Nigeria expansion. Millions of Nigerians rely on money from abroad to support everyday needs, whether it’s families receiving help from loved ones, freelancers getting paid for their work, or individuals earning income from the global economy. This helps make it easy and more reliable for people in Nigeria to receive funds and stay connected to opportunities beyond borders,” the chief executive of Flutterwave, Mr Olugbenga GB Agboola, stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
