Dr. Patricia Ojangole, Managing Director of Uganda Development Bank (UDB)has been named Banker of the Year at the prestigious African Banker Awards.
Dr. Ojangole was announced at the 19th African Banker Awards ceremony, held Wednesday at Sofitel Hotel in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, during the African Development Bank Annual Meetings.
The Banker of the Year Award recognizes an influential and inspirational leader in the African banking sector who has driven strong financial performance over the past year, successfully guiding their institution to new heights in the industry.
“The judging committee looked for an individual of outstanding integrity, someone who has managed to articulate a clear vision for his/her institution and who has managed to ensure his/her bank is playing an active role in enhancing socio-economic empowerment and development within the community his/her institution operates in,” the citation for the Award category states,” the citation for the Award category states.
Recipients of this prestigious award exhibit inspirational leadership, demonstrate novel best business practices, expand into new markets, and are innovative in terms of introducing new services and adopting new technologies for customer convenience and protection mechanisms.
“It gives me great honor to receive this recognition. This Award is a foundation for me to advance Africa’s development agenda, leveraging tailored financial solutions that respond to the needs of Africans in a sustainable manner,” Dr. Ojangole said of the recognition.
She added, “This is a testament to hard work, resilience, consistency, and commitment to serve the region.”
For 2025, awardees paid close attention to leadership in terms of empowering women (through lending to women-led businesses and promoting women to positions of leadership) as well as extending credit to the real economy, specifically SMEs.
In the category ‘Banker of the Year’, Dr. Ojangole was nominated alongside Abdulmajid Mussa Nsekela, Managing Director of CRDB Bank Plc; Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank; Karim Awad, Group CEO EFG Holding; Léon Konan Koffi, CEO of AFG Holding; Mukwandi Chibesakunda, CEO of Zanaco Inc; and
Sidi Ould Tah, President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.
Speaking at the ceremony, Omar Ben Yedder, chair of the Awards Committee, identified the private sector and banks as critical to transforming the continent.
“Thomas Sankara said the ones that feed you, rule you. To paraphrase him, we could easily say that those who finance you, rule you. We need strong African-owned banks. The private sector is the key to unlocking scale, and banks are the fuel for driving Africa forward. African DFIs have won big because of the catalytic role they are playing in transforming the investment landscape as well as working more closely with the African private sector to support SMEs and other asset classes that are underfunded,” said Yedder.
UDB was one of only six development finance institutions operating in Africa to be awarded, alongside the Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group), African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), and the Bank of Industry (BOI).
About the African Banker Awards
The African Banker Awards are a landmark annual event in African banking, held during the annual meetings of the African Development Bank. Organised by African Banker magazine under the high patronage of the African Development Bank, the African Banker Awards celebrate excellence and best practices in African banking.
Recognising the personalities and banks that are driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial sector, the African Banker Awards bring together industry leaders from Africa and the world. They celebrate the achievements of those driving growth and development, creating new economic opportunities for citizens and communities across the continent, and inspire new generations of bankers who are shaping Africa’s future.
On the same night, UDB was awarded by Uganda’s central bank as one of the best participating financial institutions in the Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) and the Small Business Recovery Fund (SBRF). The Bank won an Award for timely and full payments of loans due. In addition, UDB was recognized for having disbursed the highest number of loans to projects contributing to value addition and supporting the growth and development of Uganda’s agricultural sector.
Other UDB recognitions
The Bank was named the 2024 Regional Bank of the Year – East Africa at the prestigious African Banker Awards, in recognition of its sustained institutional performance and resilient leadership, which has delivered profitable, impact-driven lending while advancing green and sustainability priorities, even amid external shocks.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Bank and its Managing Director (MD) emerged the Sustainability Leader of the Year at the Karlsruhe Sustainability Awards in Germany, in recognition of the MD’s exceptional leadership in driving the business performance of UDB through creating social, economic and environmental values and globally advancing sustainable finance.
Credit Ratings: UDB secured a ‘AA+ (Uga)’ National Long-term Rating with a Stable Outlook. This designation, assigned by Fitch Ratings, a globally renowned credit rating agency, was accompanied by a ‘B’ Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) with a stable outlook – the same rating as Uganda’s sovereign rating, reflecting the Bank’s ownership by the Government.
UDB, alongside five other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in Africa out of more than 80 participants, earned an ‘AA rating’ from the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI). This recognition reinforces UDB’s standing as one of the continent’s best-performing Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and underscores the Bank’s commitment to excellence in meeting stringent prudential standards, particularly in governance, operational efficiency, and overall institutional performance.
The Bank received Level 5 certification under the Sustainability Standards and Certification Initiative (SSCI) Version 2, the highest level of sustainability excellence in the certification process – a testament to UDB’s commitment to consciously advancing holistic sustainability in its operations.
About Dr. Ojangole
Dr. Ojangole is a professional accountant with over 20 years of experience in Banking and Finance.
She holds a PhD in Development Finance and a Master of Philolosophy in Development Finance (cum laude) both from the University of Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa. She also holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI), Arusha, Tanzania; a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) Degree from Makerere University, Uganda and has completed several leadership and management programs.
Dr. Ojangole is a Fellow of the Association of the Certified Chartered Accountants (UK); a member of the Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU), as well as The Institute of Internal Auditors Uganda (IIA).
She is a member of the Board of Uganda Development Bank Ltd, Uganda Banker’s Association, Trademark Africa, Liberty Life Assurance (U) Ltd, Uganda and serves as a Council member at Busitema University Ltd.
Dr. Ojangole has been instrumental in transforming Uganda Development Bank into a modern and efficient institution playing a catalytical role in the government’s agenda of private sector development and job creation. Under her tenure, UDB’s balance sheet has grown tenfold from UGX 109 billion in 2013 to UGX 1.78 trillion in 2024 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT1X9bTTH6A&t=14s
