At the end of its Extraordinary General Assembly, held virtually on Monday January 30, 2023, the West African Bankers’ Association (WABA) elected a new Executive Committee.
The meeting was attended by members from the following countries: Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal (representing all banks in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
The Cameroonian banker, Dr. Guy Laurent Fondjo has been elected president of the association. He will be assisted by the Gambian banker Aina Moore, as first vice president and the Nigerian Dele Alabi, as second vice president. For his part, the outgoing president, Thierno Seydou Nourou Sy was appointed Honorary President to accompany the new team if necessary.
The meeting urged the association to effectively play a key role in the single currency program of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), managed by regional institutions (West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Commission, West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) and other sister institutions), under the leadership of the ECOWAS Commission, including the implementation of the ECOWAS Payment and Settlement System (EPSS) and the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
Entirely managed and financed by commercial banks, the association’s mission is to represent the banking and financial sector to States, the ECOWAS Commission, central banks, consular chambers, professional organizations, national and international institutions and any other party involved in economic and social activities and the regional integration project in order to promote the interests of its members; To promote the banking and financial sector and contribute to raising its professional practices to international standards; to be the showcase of the ECOWAS economy, banking and financial sector; to develop and coordinate cross-border banking and financial operations with a view to promoting intra-regional trade, integration and economic and financial development.
Its secretariat is located in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and is headed by a Secretary General. Each country is represented by its local chapter, which is the national association of bankers. There are currently 245 banks in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 140 in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and 105 in the West African Monetary Zone.
Dr. Guy Laurent Fondjo, Chairman
Dr. Guy Laurent Fondjo, 47, has been the managing director of Afriland First Bank Guinea since 2015, and since October 2020, chairman of Afriland First Holding, Afriland First Group’s first investment company on the continent. Based in Lomé, the investment company covers West Africa and is also intended to take equity stakes in companies and other investment projects.
Dr. Guy Laurent Fondjo is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guinea Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange (a structure in charge of implementing local content). He is also the outgoing President of the Professional Association of Credit Institutions of Guinea and has been Vice President of ABAO since July 2021. He also sits on several boards of directors of public and private companies.
Dr. Guy Laurent Fondjo holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the United States and began his career 20 years ago as a computer engineer at Afriland First Bank Cameroon, where he served as Director of Information Systems, Director of Human Resources and Regional Director.
Appointed Managing Director of Afriland First Bank Guinea in 2015, he installed a network of more than 100 rural development micro banks throughout Guinea. This activity inspired him to conduct field research that led to the public defense of a doctoral thesis in business administration from the Institute of Business Administration of the University of Lyon III and the Business Science Institute of Luxembourg in 2020. The theme of the thesis was “How can participatory and community-based management of microfinance structures contribute to poverty reduction? Case of the Republic of Guinea”, under the supervision of Professor Marielle-Audrey Payaud, professor at the iaelyon School of Management, University of Lyon.
Dr. Guy Laurent Fondjo is the recipient of the 2020 Managerial Impact Prize awarded by the Business Science Institute.
Aina Moore, 1st Vice President
For her part, Aina Moore is the current CEO of Ecobank Sierra Leone, since May 2015. Prior to that, she was the Head of Corporate Banking for Ecobank Sierra Leone from 2010 to 2021. She is also the president of the Sierra Leone Commercial Banks Association.
She holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Leeds and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Sierra Leone, Fourah Bay College.
Dele Alabi, Second Vice President
Dele Alabi has 28 years of diversified experience in the banking industry. He is currently the Managing Director of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Specialised Finance Company, Mauritius. He is also the second Vice Chairman of the Board of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, the umbrella professional body for bankers in Nigeria.
Prior to that, he was the executive director (finance and control) of Ecobank Nigeria, a position he held from September 2011 to December 2016.
Dele Alabi has held various positions within the Ecobank Group, including treasury and financial institutions, strategy and business development, corporate banking, finance, controls and risk management. He joined Ecobank Nigeria in 1993 and rose to senior positions in the subsidiary before transferring to the group in January 2007. He was part of the team responsible for developing the Ecobank franchise in the East and Southern Africa region between 2007 and 2008. He was the first Managing Director of Ecobank Uganda from its inception in January 2009 until August 2011. He also served on the boards of FSDH Merchant Bank and Ecobank Burundi as a non-executive director.
Prior to joining Ecobank Nigeria PLC in 1993, Dele Alabi worked for 5 years with Arthur Andersen & Co (now KPMG Professional Services), an international audit and advisory firm.
A chartered stockbroker, accountant, tax specialist and award-winning banker with decades of diversified experience in the banking industry, he is the President of the West African Bankers Association (WABA), Nigeria Chapter.
Dele Alabi graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, with a first class honors degree in Accounting and obtained an MBA in Finance from the University of Lagos.
