Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“Ecobank” or “the Group”) has won the Award for Innovation in Banking in this year’s African Banker’s awards.
The annual awards, which reward outstanding talent and achievement in Africa’s financial sector, were held under the patronage of the African Development Bank at its Annual General Meeting in Marrakech, Morocco. Mr. Albert Essien, Deputy CEO and Head of Ecobank’s Corporate and Investment Banking Division, accepted the award on the Group’s behalf. Also in attendance was Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, Ecobank’s Group Executive Director and Head of Domestic Bank, representing the Group’s retail, local corporate, public sector and microfinance businesses.
“Innovation provides the key to unlock the potential of the African continent. This is especially relevant within financial services, where the unbanked proportion of the population is still high,” said Omar Ben Yedder, Publisher of African Banker. “Innovation helps us to reduce transaction costs and reach out to the wider community, which is what Ecobank is successfully doing. They are leveraging technology and their extensive footprint to enhance their customer service and, by providing faster and affordable access, Ecobank is making a significant contribution to improving financial inclusion across Africa.”
Patrick Akinwuntan, Group Executive Director, Domestic Bank commented: “Amongst a number of initiatives that we have implemented to enhance customer convenience, I would highlight the rollout of both our retail internet banking service and our Chip and Pin cards across all of our 33 African countries, the launch of our ‘Mobile Money’ offering in 12 countries, the introduction of credit factories, which can provide personal loans within 72 hours, and the continued success of Ecobank OMNI, our corporate electronic banking platform.”
“By leveraging our pan-African franchise, empowering our talented staff and utilizing ‘best of breed’ systems and processes, we will continue our pursuit of exceeding our customers’ expectations,” said Albert Essien, Group Deputy CEO. “We are very proud of this high profile acknowledgment and remain committed to embracing innovation to provide world-class customer service,” he concluded.
Notes to Editors
About Ecobank Group
Incorporated in Lomé, Togo, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is the parent company of the leading independent pan-African banking group. It currently has a presence in 33 African countries, namely: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The Group is also represented in France through its affiliate EBI S.A. in Paris. ETI also has representative office in Beijing, China, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and London, UK. ETI is listed on the stock exchanges in Lagos, Accra and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) – the BRVM in Abidjan. The Group has more than 600,000 local and international institutional and individual shareholders. The Group has 18,321 employees in 37 countries and 1,200 branches and offices.
Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals. Additional information may be found at http://www.ecobank.com.
