The All Africa Business Leader Awards (AABLA) in partnership with CNBC has just named the Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc as the 2017 African Business Leader of the Year. This award is coming two weeks after he won the West African Business Leader of the year at the regional level as well as the 2017 SERAS “Sustainability Champion of the Year”
The announcement was made at the AABLA award finale dinner, held last night at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa and attended by CEOs, Government Officials and top business executives from all over the continent.
Other nominees for the prestigious award include Khalid Abdulla from Southern Africa and Joshua Nyamweya Oigara representing Eastern Africa. The award sets to recognize business quality and leaders who have made substantial impact on the industry in which they play as well as the community in which they operate.
According to the organisers, this award aims to promote and encourage business excellence across the continent. It also honours individuals who exemplify the best in African leadership as well as outstanding business leaders who epitomize the core values of a successful leader, strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight – values that are imperative to carving out a powerful business in a Pan- African and global economy.
Receiving the award, Herbert Wigwe, said, “I am deeply humbled by the decision of the All Africa Business Leaders Award (AABLA), in partnership with CNBC Africa, to be recognized as the African Business Leader of the Year. I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of the will, resilience, innovation and drive of our team at Access Bank to excel, and a recognition of the bank to become the gateway for African businesses to the world.”
“It is also an honor to share this moment with other business leaders, entrepreneurs, institutions, men and women who have excelled in their own space, and have contributed to the growth and quality of life in Africa through their respective ventures. This is a very humbling experience for me, being put side by side with such strong personalities like Khalid Abdulla and Joshua Oigara. This esteemed award means a lot to me and is dedicated to every employee of Access Bank Plc,” he added.
Wigwe stressed that Access Bank remains committed to delivering banking excellence and ensuring its services are in line with sustainable banking principles.
The 7th Annual AABLA hosted three regional awards in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya where Wigwe, Abdulla and Oigara emerged winners respectively.