Centenary Rural Development Bank Ltd has been named the AFAWA Bank of the Year at the prestigious 2024 African Banker Awards. This esteemed accolade highlights the bank’s significant contributions to supporting women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as part of its SME strategy.
The award ceremony took place at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings. More than 300 distinguished figures in banking and finance from across the continent gathered to celebrate this recognition.
In addition to Centenary Bank’s achievement, Uganda Development Bank (UDB) was honored with the Regional Bank of the Year (East) award. This further underscores Uganda’s presence and impact in the regional banking sector.
Omar Ben Yedder, chair of the Awards Committee, emphasized the evolving landscape of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and the crucial role they play in addressing various economic challenges. He highlighted the necessity for significant capital increases to address gaps in infrastructure, trade, climate, and SME financing. Furthermore, Yedder stressed the importance of policymakers’ support in facilitating these initiatives.
The evolving banking sector is witnessing reforms and new capital requirements for financial institutions. This transformation is expected to result in larger banks with enhanced capabilities to finance major conglomerates and large-scale infrastructure projects. Yedder cited examples such as UBA, Access, Zenith, and GTB in Nigeria, which have expanded their roles in financing significant projects, marking a notable shift from previous decades.
