By Hannah Dadzie
Executive Director and Group Chief Financial Officer of Ecobank Transnational, Dr. Ayo Adepoju, has been honoured at the maiden edition of the Africa Finance Leaders Awards, held during the Conference of African Chief Financial Officers (CACFO) in Accra. The two-day event took place from November 3 to 4, 2024, at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel.
The CACFO event provided a crucial, unique platform for African CFOs to convene, reflect on, and address the shared challenges of managing corporate financial portfolios across the continent and globally. In the wake of the recent global pandemic, coupled with ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainties, the role of the CFO has taken on unprecedented importance. This necessitated a nuanced review of subjects critical to this niche community of officers leading financial management for African corporations.
The conference agenda was structured to reflect the diversity of trending themes impacting the contemporary CFO, with topics including: Sustainable Financing and ESG, AfCFTA & Trade Finance, implications and opportunities of AI in African Project Finance, Risks and Economic Issues in Post-Pandemic Africa, Credit & Liquidity Challenges in African Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance and the Work of the CFO, amongst others. However, the highlight for many participants was the introduction of the Africa Finance Leaders Awards, which focused on celebrating financial excellence by honoring distinction and achievements in finance.
Speaking at the event, Executive Director of the Conference of African Chief Finance Officers, Hannah Awuku, said the Awards aim to recognize those building Africa’s financial leadership “one decision, one innovation, and one leader at a time,” describing the honourees as “deserving of every accolade.”
Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, who addressed the ceremony, commended the honorees for demonstrating “sound finance,” emphasizing that it is not just about profit margins but is also about foresight, about integrity and about impact.
Dr. Ayo Adepoju received the prestigious Award for Excellence in Corporate Financial Performance & Growth in 2025.
Appointed Group CFO and subsequently Group Executive Director in June 2025, Dr. Adepoju leads a finance team of approximately 250 professionals across 35 countries. Under his strategic oversight, Ecobank has significantly enhanced its presence in global capital markets and strengthened its financial resilience through landmark transactions, including Eurobonds and sustainability-linked debt. His work has been instrumental in advancing Ecobank’s Growth, Transformation & Returns strategy, optimizing capital allocation, and driving enterprise-wide transformation initiatives, ultimately resulting in improved financial performance across Africa.
His visionary leadership, deep institutional knowledge, and extensive experience have been central to sustaining Ecobank’s competitive edge and growth trajectory.
Other distinguished awardees include Governor of the Central Bank of Libya; H.E. Naji Mohammed Issa, Governor of the Bank of Ghana; Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, Ghana’s Minister of Finance; Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Semiu Lamidi of FirstBank Ghana; Chief Finance Officer of MTN Group; Tsholofelo Molefe, and Ibukun Oyedeji of Access Bank.
Organizers of the Africa Finance Leaders Awards say the newly launched scheme has five key objectives, including the need to ensure transparency and fairness in the selection process to promote excellence, foster innovation, enhance competitiveness, recognize impact, and encourage sustainability.
