Ghana to host ECOWAS finance award

Ghana is set to host the maiden edition of the ECOWAS Finance Award (EFA) which recognises industry talent, leadership skills, industry net worth and capability.

The EFA is to be held Friday, May 13, 2022, in Accra, the capital of Ghana,

“The awards event would recognise, reward, and celebrate organisations, institutions and individuals that are contributing to the innovation, achievements, progressive and inspirational changes taking place within the banking and financial sector and the general economy in West Africa,” Iheukwumere Amadi, awards director said.

The awards will feature a keynote presentation and a panel discussion that will focus on the key roles, synergies, collaborations, and partnerships required from West Africa’s banking and financial institutions to deliver on the gains of AfCFTA.

The keynote is expected to be delivered by Pierre Frank Laporte, country director, World Bank, Ghana. Other dignitaries expected to attend the event include Joseph Siaw Agyepong, executive director of Jospong Group of Companies, Ken Ofori-Atta, finance minister, Togbe Afede XIV among others.

There are nine broad award categories comprising banking, insurance, pension funds, investment finance, development finance, microfinance banking and mortgage finance, regulatory and fintech as well as individual/recognition awards.

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Highlighting the criteria for selection, Amadi said the award committee employed a mix of qualitative and quantitative parameters to select the nominees for different categories of awards. The qualitative parameters include the prompt release of audited annual reports within the stipulated time, the presence of the analyst’s presentation on banks’ official websites among others.

The quantitative parameters, he noted, include profit after tax growth, capital adequacy ratio, return on average equity (ROAE), return on average assets (ROAA), non-performing loans (NPL), net interest margin (NIM), penalties paid to the regulator, complaints resolution, the cost to income ratio and dividend growth.

Each broad award category, except the Regulatory Award, would feature four award categories namely: the ECOWAS CEO of the Year, ECOWAS Company of the Year; ECOWAS Most innovative company of the year and the ECOWAS fastest-growing company of the year.

Apart from that, there shall also be ECOWAS Financial Reporter of the Year (Radio, TV, and Print Categories). West Africa’s combined annual gross domestic product and gross domestic product per capita stand at $683.772m and $1, 721 respectively.

Others include the number of subsidiaries in sub–Saharan Africa (SSA), contributions to the bottom line from SSA, promotion of non-interest banking and financial inclusion products and services, and the number of deals executed across the African continent. The list of nominees is expected to be released in the first week of May 2022.