Latest news with #JeremyAwori
Zawya
6 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Pan-African lender Ecobank optimistic about second half, CEO says
Pan-African lender Ecobank is "optimistic" about the prospects for its second-half performance, its chief executive said, as long as there are no further US tariffs or other global shocks. The Lome, Togo-headquartered lender, which operates in 35 countries around the continent, posted a 23% growth in pretax profit for the first six months of this year thanks to recoveries in some of its key markets like Ghana. "We are confident that we will see the business continuing to perform. We have got a diversified business," Jeremy Awori, the group chief executive officer said in an interview. Growth in the business is also being driven by payment services, remittances, trade finances and other non-lending income lines. "Our lending is picking up. We are doing that cautiously because there are still many macroeconomic uncertainties and we don't want to lurch back into NPLs (non-performing loans)," Awori said on Friday. Ecobank's shares, which collapsed during the global financial crisis, are up by almost a third this year. That's more than double other regional lenders such as KCB Bank and Access Bank and well above the 6% rise in Standard Bank. Last week though, Ecobank's biggest shareholder, South Africa's Nedbank, put its 21.2% stake in bank up for sale, in part due to concerns it may have had to inject more capital in order to prevent "shareholding dilution". As one of Africa's biggest lenders, Ecobank's cash distribution business has been impacted by US President Donald Trump's move to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Awori said. Ecobank has also been handling funds for the World Health Organisation, a United Nations agency that has also been affected by the USAID cuts. He did not provide data but Awori said the impact was distributed across its many markets, meaning the hit on deposits was not pronounced. He is also monitoring broader international developments too, especially the scale of US trade tariffs. "A decision taken by the US against China or against Europe can have a knock-on effect across into our markets," Awori said. "We are very joined up." Although an opening-up Ethiopia could be an exception given its size and potential, Ecobank doesn't have any near-term geographical expansion plans. "It is never say never, but right now, for the next couple of years, we feel we have enough opportunities where we are," Awori said.
Reuters
11-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Pan-African lender Ecobank optimistic about second half, CEO says
NAIROBI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Pan-African lender Ecobank ( opens new tab is "optimistic" about the prospects for its second half performance, its chief executive said, as long as there are no further U.S. tariffs or other global shocks. The Lome, Togo-headquartered lender, which operates in 35 countries around the continent, posted a 23% growth in pretax profit for the first six months of this year thanks to recoveries in some of its key markets like Ghana. "We are confident that we will see the business continuing to perform. We have got a diversified business," Jeremy Awori, the group CEO, told Reuters in an interview. Growth in the business is also being driven by payment services, remittances, trade finances and other non-lending income lines. "Our lending is picking up. We are doing that cautiously because there are still many macroeconomic uncertainties and we don't want to lurch back into NPLs (non-performing loans)," Awori, who spoke to Reuters on Friday, said. Ecobank's shares, which collapsed during the global financial crisis, are up by almost a third this year. That's more than double other regional lenders such as KCB Bank ( opens new tab and Access Bank ( opens new tab and well above the 6% rise in Standard Bank. (SBKJ.J), opens new tab. Last week though, Ecobank's biggest shareholder, South Africa's Nedbank (NEDJ.J), opens new tab, put its 21.2% stake in bank up for sale, in part due to concerns it may have had to inject more capital in order to prevent "shareholding dilution". As one of Africa's biggest lenders, Ecobank's cash distribution business has been impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump's move to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Awori said. Ecobank has also been handling funds for the World Health Organisation, a United Nations agency that has also been affected by the USAID cuts. He did not provide data but Awori said the impact was distributed across its many markets, meaning the hit on deposits was not pronounced. He is also monitoring broader international developments too, especially the scale of U.S. trade tariffs. "A decision taken by the U.S. against China or against Europe can have a knock-on effect across into our markets," Awori said. "We are very joined up." Although an opening-up Ethiopia could be an exception given its size and potential, Ecobank doesn't have any near-term geographical expansion plans. "It is never say never, but right now, for the next couple of years, we feel we have enough opportunities where we are," Awori said.
Zawya
26-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Ecobank, XTransfer partnership will boost SME trade with China
XTransfer, China's B2B cross-border trade payment platform, and Ecobank Group, have signed a landmark MOU to roll out comprehensive cross-border financial services to Africa's SMEs engaged in foreign trade. The collaboration will facilitate trade between China and African countries. In recent years, China and Africa have continued to deepen trade cooperation. In 2023, bilateral trade reached a record $282bn. From January to November 2024, China's exports to Africa totalled $160bn, a 1.4% increase from the previous year, while imports from Africa reached $107bn, marking a substantial rise of 6.6% Despite this growth, African SMEs engaged in foreign trade face numerous challenges related to cross- border payments and fund collections. The partnership between XTransfer and Ecobank Group will provide comprehensive cross-border payment solutions for African SMEs' foreign trade. XTransfer will leverage Ecobank's extensive network across Africa, enabling its Chinese clients to collect funds in local African currencies while assisting African SMEs in making payments in their local currencies to negate foreign exchange issues. Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, said: 'This partnership builds on our established strategy, which includes a representative office in China and a dedicated China desk. By integrating XTransfer's cutting-edge solutions with our pan-African payment platform, we simplify payments, reduce transaction costs, and enable African businesses to thrive in global trade.' © Copyright IC Publications 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
27-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Ecobank named Best Bank in Africa 2025 in Global Finance Awards
Ecobank ( the leading private pan-African financial services Group which has unrivalled African expertise, is delighted to have been named Best Bank in Africa 2025 in Global Finance's World's Best Banks 2025 Awards. The Awards also selected Ecobank Gambia and Ecobank Togo as the Best Banks 2025 in their respective countries. Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, said, 'Driving intra-African trade is an important focus of our Growth, Transformation and Returns strategy and we are continuously leveraging technology and partnerships to further enhance our continental digital payments platform and to position Ecobank as Africa's trade bank of choice. 'These awards are a testament to Ecobank's intense focus on putting our customers at the centre of our decision making, and the quality of our comprehensive suite of financial products, services and solutions that we provide to global and regional corporates, financial institutions and international organisations. Our expertise and integrated coverage, which is networked across our 35-African country footprint, enable us to structure complex local and cross-border transactions. We maximise our impact across our markets by deploying our key product pillars of cash management; trade finance; fixed income currencies and commodities; loans and liquidity; investment banking; and securities, wealth and asset management.' In selecting the best bank winners, Global Finance's judges considered factors including growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development and innovation in products. They also sought the opinions of equity analysts, credit rating analysts, banking consultants and others involved in the industry, and held extensive consultations with corporate financial executives, bankers, banking consultants and analysts. The winners are banks that attend carefully to their customers' needs in difficult markets and accomplish strong results while laying the foundations for future success. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Ecobank Gambia and Ecobank Togo will be presented with their awards at the Global Finance Awards Ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington DC, USA, on 18 October 2025, which is being held during the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. Media Contacts: Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Christiane Bossom, Group Communications, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Email: groupcorporatecomms@ Tel: +228 22 21 03 03 Web: About Ecobank: Ecobank Group is the leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise. Present in 35 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, the UK, UAE and China, its unique pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade and investment. The Group employs over 14,000 people and offers Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking products, services and solutions across multiple channels, including digital, to over 32 million customers. For further information, please visit
Zawya
03-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
The Ecobank Group expands its gender-financing offer to facilitate access to financing for Africa's women entrepreneurs
Ellevate by Ecobank expands to become bigger, better and more inclusive. From supporting corporate businesswomen, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to individual entrepreneurs, and those in the informal sector. To bridge the gender financing gap for Africa's women entrepreneurs, Ecobank ( the leading pan-African financial services group, announces significant enhancements to its multi-award-winning gender-financing solution - 'Ellevate by Ecobank'. These improvements strengthen Ecobank's commitment to women-owned, women-led, and women-focused businesses, while reinforcing its market competitiveness. The World Bank estimates that closing the gender gap in Africa could add $2.5 trillion to the continent's GDP by 2025, underscoring the urgency of investing in women – not just for social justice, but for a more prosperous and equitable future for all Africans. In response, Ecobank's enhanced Ellevate programme is now more ambitious and inclusive, designed to address the diverse challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. The programme is being extended from new and existing Commercial Banking customers to include new and existing Consumer Banking and Corporate Banking customers, as well as female business leaders, with Corporate Banking customers serving as a pool of mentors. With this expansion, individual entrepreneurs - including those in the formal and informal sectors - can now fully benefit from its enhanced financial and non-financial solutions. Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, said: 'We recognise and applaud the role that women entrepreneurs play in driving socio-economic impact across Africa and are committed to supporting them at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey. Since the launch of the Ellevate programme we have made significant progress, disbursing over US$200 million in loans, providing business networking opportunities, and offering leadership and capacity-building training for businesswomen.' 'Today, Ellevate 2.0 heralds in a new era for gender financing. It is bigger, better and more inclusive, delivering exceptional value to female entrepreneurs and women business leaders. Enhancing our products and solutions for women entrepreneurs to position Ecobank as their bank of choice is an integral component in accelerating the success of our Growth, Transformation and Returns strategy's objectives. It also supports our Group-wide objective of promoting gender equality and contributing to sustainable development.' The enhanced Ellevate's value propositions now include: Increasing access to finance with unsecured loans of up to US$50,000 Competitive interest rates and favourable collateral requirements Accommodating customers with a two-year track record instead of the industry-standard three years Helping them to find new customers and access new markets across Africa through our innovative online matchmaking MyTradeHub platform Training, knowledge sharing webinars, support and other initiatives to enhance customers' business and leadership skills Customised wealth management services A one-stop shop to meet insurance needs. A loyalty programme providing exclusive offers and discounts at select retail stores and recreation centres To coincide with the celebrations of the International Women's Day, our enhanced Ellevate program will be launched by nine of our affiliates (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe) by the end of March 2025. It will then be rolled-out in phases across all our other sub-Saharan African affiliates throughout the year. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. Media Contact: Christiane Bossom Group Communications Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Email: groupcorporatecomms@ Tel: +228 22 21 03 03 Web: About Ecobank Group (or 'Ecobank Transnational Incorporated' or 'ETI'): Ecobank Group is the leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise. Present in 35 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, the UK, UAE and China, its unique pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade and investment. The Group employs over 14,000 people and offers Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking products, services and solutions across multiple channels, including digital, to over 32 million customers. For further information, please visit
