The winner of AFAWA Bank of the Year Award will be announced on 28 May 2024, during the African Banker Awards Gala Ceremony taking place at the JW Marriott in Nairobi.
The AFAWA Bank of the Year award seeks to celebrate the financial institutions contributing to bridge the $49 billion gender financing gap in Africa, particularly through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Guarantee for Growth (G4G) facility. The AFAWA G4G facility is offered by African Guarantee Fund under the larger AFAWA flagship initiative of the African Development Bank, which seeks to unlock $5 billion in access to finance for 30,000 women-owned and led businesses by 2030.
This year, thirteen banks applied for the award, reflecting a growing commitment to empowering women in Africa through financial inclusion. After a rigorous selection process, five banks emerged as nominees:
• Centenary Rural Development Bank Ltd
• Stanbic Bank Kenya Ltd
• RAWBANK SA
• EQUITY BCDC
• Fin’ELLE
The five nominees were shortlisted based on their demonstrated efforts in providing innovative financial solutions tailored to women entrepreneurs, utilization of the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth facility and the number of women-led or owned SMEs in the banks’ portfolios.
Despite the strides made in advancing inclusive finance in Sub-Saharan Africa, the disparity in access to financial services between genders remains high, yet women entrepreneurs contribute to over 60% of Africa’s GDP. According to the 2021 Global Findex Report by the World Bank, while 61% of adult males in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to finance, only 49% of females do. Although there was a reduction in the gender gap from 9% to 6% – the first in the developing world since 2011– a significant number of women – approximately 745m – still lack access to financial services globally.
Now in its second edition, the AFAWA Bank of The Year Award is part of the African Banker Awards 2024. Letshego Microfinance Bank Nigeria, a subsidiary of Letshego Holdings Limited (Letshego Group) won the first AFAWA Bank of the Year Award at the African Banker Awards 2023 ceremony held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Launched by African Banker magazine in 2007, the African Banker Awards were designed to highlight African success stories in banking as well as recognise the rapid modernisation and growth of Africa’s banking and financial system.
The African Banker Awards are part of the official programme of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings, which this year are being held under the theme: “Africa’s Transformation, the African Development Bank Group and the Reform of the Global Financial Architecture.”
Winner of AFAWA Bank of the Year Award to be Announced May 28
