Banking group, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, has been named Africa’s Best Bank for Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence for the second consecutive year.

A statement by the Group said it had earlier won the award in 2022.

On the award, the Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, Jeremy Awori, said, “This award reflects Ecobank’s absolute commitment to supporting African SMEs and our continuous suite of innovations, financial and non-financial, to spur their growth and success.

“We aim to be the bank of choice for Africa’s SMEs. Undoubtedly, these SMEs are the key drivers for Africa’s economic growth, as they create jobs, generate prosperity while eliminating poverty across the continent.”

The statement added, “In the last 12 months, Ecobank had launched initiatives targeted at SMEs namely, Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub, which supports the AfCFTA’s single African market, RapidCollect, which enables Ecobank’s business customers to receive payments from their clients in their home country and across Ecobank’s network of 33 affiliates, instantly and at a lower cost than any other cross-border solution.

“It also include a partnership with Mastercard Farm Pass through which it digitised the agricultural value chain for smallholder farmers and the Ellevate Equip Leadership Programme for women-led or focused business customers.”