Papa Madiaw Ndiaye Takes the Helm of Ecobank’s Board of Directors

Banking

Friday, 07 June 2024 16:52

Papa Madiaw Ndiaye Takes the Helm of Ecobank’s Board of Directors

(Togo First) - Papa Madiaw Ndiaye, the CEO and founder of AFIG Funds, has taken over as Chairman of the Board of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), succeeding Cameroonian Alain Nkontchou.

Ndiaye's experience extends far beyond his work at AFIG Funds. He was Investment Director at Emerging Markets Partnership (EMP) in Washington, where he played a key role in raising USD 407 million for the AIG African Infrastructure Fund in 2000, the largest pan-African fund at the time.

Before joining EMP, Ndiaye worked for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), managing equity and debt investments for African financial institutions between 1996 and 2000. He also worked at Salomon Brothers and later with JP Morgan's Emerging Markets Group, laying the foundations for his expertise in securities trading in Africa and the Middle East.

Ndiaye's academic background is equally impressive, with an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in International Business from the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Economics from Harvard College.

In addition to his business responsibilities, Ndiaye is also on the board of several entities, including the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA).

As the new Chairman of the Board, Ndiaye will have to work on returning dividends and tackling the problems encountered by the group's Nigerian subsidiary, which is going through a difficult period.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.