Bank of Africa (BOA) was named Best Bank in North Africa at the 20th edition of the African Banker Awards, held in Brazzaville on the margins of the African Development Bank’s Annual Assemblies. The ceremony brought together senior banking executives, regulators, and policymakers from across the continent for an event that has become the reference recognition exercise for the African financial sector, celebrating institutions that have made significant contributions to the growth and development of African banking over the preceding year.
BOA’s North Africa award reflects the bank’s sustained performance across its network, which spans Morocco and a significant number of Sub-Saharan African countries. The institution has positioned itself as a bridge between Morocco’s financial sector and African markets, combining retail banking with corporate, trade finance, and diaspora-focused services. Its recognition at the African Banker Awards adds to a period of strong institutional momentum that has seen BOA expand its continental footprint and deepen its product offering for Moroccan diaspora investors and African enterprises simultaneously.
The 2026 edition distributed its top recognitions across a broad geography and institutional range. The Banker of the Year Award went to Serge Ekué, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD). Ecobank — the pan-African institution operating in 35 countries — took the Bank of the Year award. The African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), headquartered in Cairo, was recognized as Development Finance Institution of the Year. The Central Bank Governor of the Year award went to André Wameso of the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Zambia’s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane received the Finance Minister of the Year trophy.
Sectoral awards reflected the breadth of African banking’s evolution. Rawbank of the DRC received the AFAWA trophy, which recognizes banks advancing women’s financial inclusion. The Sustainable Bank of the Year award went to Nigeria’s Bank of Industry. Ziidi Trader was named Fintech of the Year, and the Cooperative Bank of Kenya received the SME Bank of the Year designation. Deal of the Year awards covered debt, infrastructure, and equity transactions, with Red Rocket and Absa & Rand Merchant Bank recognized for infrastructure financing and Arise IIP for the equity category.
The AfDB Annual Assemblies 2026, running until May 29 in Brazzaville under the theme “Mobilizing Resources at Scale for African Development Financing in a Fragmented World,” provide the strategic backdrop for the awards. The theme’s framing — scale, mobilization, fragmentation — captures precisely the environment in which African financial institutions are operating: one of rising demand for development capital, constrained international liquidity, and intensifying geopolitical complexity that places a premium on institutions with genuine continental reach and proven operational depth.
