UBA’s Regional CEO of West Africa 1 Wins Exemplary Leadership in Banking Award

Regional Chief Executive Officer (RCEO), West Africa 1, Mrs Abiola Bawuah receiving the award from Controller and Accountant-General of Ghana

Accra, Ghana, November 12, 2018//-Mrs Abiola Bawuah, the United Bank for Africa’s (UBA’s) Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of West Africa 1 responsible for Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone, has won the prestigious Exemplary Leadership in Banking Award 2018 at the second Ghana Accountancy & Finance Awards.

The award presented to Mrs Bawuah by the Controller and Accountant-General of Ghana, Eugene Ofosuhene seeks to recognise her outstanding achievement, vision, contribution and growth of UBA Ghana and the country’s banking industry at large.

Mrs Bawuah received a certificate and a coveted plaque at the awards night held at the plush Movenpick Hotel in Accra, over the weekend.

The Ghana Accountancy & Finance Awards provides a platform to celebrate individuals and companies that play a significant role in the development of the accountancy and finance sectors while recognizing the key functions within the industry that promote standards and excellent stewardship.

The awards which was organized by the Strategic Accountancy Africa in partnership with the Association Certified Chartered Accountants, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, National Pensions Regulatory Authority and endorsed by the Ministry of Finance, also celebrated the excellence of finance teams, insurance companies, finance houses, investment banks, treasury and markets, savings and loans, microfinance, pensions, and outstanding individuals in these sectors.

In all, seven business executives including Mrs Bawuah and more than 100 companies were awarded in the various categories including Finance Company of the Year, Insurance Company of the Year, Investment Fund of the Year, and ICT Company of the Year.

Why Mrs Bawuah picked the award

Industry watchers were not surprised at Mrs Bawuah picking the prestigious award based on her track records at UBA Ghana and the banking industry as a whole.

Before her appointment as Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of West Africa 1, Mrs. Bawuah managed the affairs of UBA Ghana as MD/CEO since 2013.

As MD/CEO of Ghana, Mrs Bawuah recorded significant milestones. In 2016, UBA Ghana Limited announced its unaudited financial results, showing a remarkable 134 percent growth year-on-year in profit before tax, the bank also recorded significant positive performances in other headline numbers, with a 114 percent growth in Gross Earnings, and 68 percent growth in Customer Deposits.

This resulted in the bank being adjudged the “Best Bank – Product Innovation and Services” and first runner-up for the Best Financial Performance at the 2017 Ghana Banking Awards (GBA).

Also, under her leadership she grew the branch network from 25 branches in 2013 to 28 fully networked branches. Again, under her guidance, the organization has planted several ATMs from the already 37 in 2013 to 57 Visa, Verve and Mastercard enabled ATMs spread across Accra, Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi, Tamale, Tarkwa and Aflao.

Dedicate the award to customers

Regional Chief Executive Officer (RCEO), West Africa 1, Mrs Abiola Bawuah speaking after receiving the prestigious award

Commenting on the latest award, Mrs Bawuah dedicated the award to the numerous customers of the UBA Ghana for their trust and loyalty. She thanked the organisers of the awards for the honour done her and the UBA family.

Mrs Bawuah also thanked the government for creating the congenial environment for businesses to thrive in the country.

She used the opportunity to say Ghanaians that; “UBA is a customer-centric bank, if you don’t have an account with UBA, you are missing out”.

Previous awards

At the 2016 Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana Awards, she was adjudged the CIMG Marketing Woman of the Year and subsequently went on to win the Finance Personality of the Year Award at the Ghana Accountancy and Finance Awards barely two months after.

In 2015 and 2016, Woman Rising, Ghana’s leading network of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders released a comprehensive and inspiring list of the Top 50 Women Corporate Leaders in Ghana featuring 50 leading corporate women from various business sectors aimed at recognizing the outstanding achievements of women in the development of the Ghanaian economy and inspiring the next generation of globally minded women business leaders; Mrs Bawuah was adjudged one of the non-ranked top 50 female women in Ghana.

She was also adjudged by the Chief Finance Officers (CFO) in 2016 as “Woman of Excellence in Finance”.

At the same awards her gifted guidance led UBA to pick the Best Bank award in Risk Management. But the crowning moment came in 2017, when the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Millennium Excellence Foundation identified Mrs. Bawuah’s hard work, achievements and contribution to Ghana and awarded her the ultimate prize as the Female Expatriate CEO of the year.

By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report

 Email: mk68008@gmail.com

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