João Figueiredo, CEO of Único Bank, has been named African Banker of the Year at this year's African Banker Awards, which took place in Marrakesh, Morocco yesterday. The awards, delivered by Africa Banker Magazine, are held annually during the meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Único is a Mozambican universal services bank with a strong focus on retail services and a relative newcomer to the country, having only entered the market in August 2011. Único, led by João Figueiredo, has since tripled the number of branches in country and is now the 6th biggest bank in Mozambique. This rapid growth has captured the eye of South Africa financial giant, Nedbank, who is currently waiting for the go-ahead from South African and Mozambican authorities to finalise the acquisition of a 36.4% stake in Único Bank as part of their Africa growth strategy.
Prior to establishing Único Bank, João Figueiredo was the CEO of International Mozambican Bank, Millennium bim, for over nine years. Other nominees in the category included Segun Agbaje, CEO and managing director of GTB Bank; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, GMD and chief executive of Access Bank; Andrew Alli, president and CEO of Africa Finance Corporation; and Charles Kimei, managing director of CRDB.
