“A Consistent Leader”

As a transformational leader, Maureen Mba has constantly been open to innovation wherever it may arise. She readily embraces opportunities to do things differently and is always open to new ideas, no matter where those ideas may come from. As one of the pioneer staff of Afreximbank, Maureen was part of the team that developed and put systems in place for the smooth take-off of the Bank. She single-handedly established the Compliance Function, which evolved and expanded over the years from being a manual process-driven Unit to a fully-fledged Department with automated processes. Her experience as the Director of the Compliance Department was one of the factors that informed the Bank’s decision to appoint her to lead the MANSA Digital Initiative, the pan-African web-based due diligence repository platform to reduce the information asymmetry in the continent; eliminate the global perceived risk of doing business in Africa, reduce huge compliance cost and of course restore investor’s confidence in the continent.

During her career, and given her dedication and commitment to work, Maureen transformed her direct reports into what they call the “Afreximbank Way” or “indoctrination” into the organization. She motivated and mentored her direct reports, thus discovering hidden talents in them. Despite varying professional and diverse backgrounds, Maureen has influenced her teams to develop a passion for serving Africa. With Afreximbank, it is not just about a career but the passion for seeing the continent transform. Maureen took her time to understand her team and motivated them to step out of their comfort zone with her empathy and the ability to inspire confidence. Again, her tenacity to work has always been her driving force.

A good listener, Maureen is someone who inspired colleagues across the Bank and team members to feel bold enough to share ideas. She considers ideas with an open mind and responds without judgment or finality; consequently, colleagues and team members feel seen, understood, and respected. With this approach, others are inspired to share their thoughts without self-censoring.

Maureen led the establishment of the MANSA Digital Initiative Platform, despite there being other KYC repositories inside and outside Africa. She managed and led the platform's development and its business model to ensure that it is a unique product that is rather complimentary than a competitor to the other Platforms.

The steadfast leader has been supporting women relentlessly through sharing ideas and experiences. “What women need to appreciate is that all businesses go through phases and require perseverance and embracing all challenges as part of the learning process. So, giving up should not appear in any woman’s vocabulary. NEVER!” She adds, “I am a known philanthropist and have supported many women in Nigeria and outside to start-up their business and most of them have successful businesses, which makes me very proud. I have also sponsored them to attend entrepreneurship courses to empower them fully.”

Maureen is someone who walks the talk. Having a career of more than 30 years with no record of a disciplinary hearing is a true testimony of her integrity and sincerity of her career, which motivates future leaders. She supports the continuous development of her team members, recommending and supporting them for leadership and capacity training programmes. Armed with such a unique ideology, She has taken the company to new heights.

Afreximbank has emerged as a formidable force in Trade Finance matters in Africa. The following are just but a few of the Bank’s many achievements:

• Financial performance has been resilient despite the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic and other global uncertainties impacting most businesses;

• Afreximbank has managed to grow its business baseline consistently and now boasts of 6 Regional offices in Africa, subsidiaries, and affiliates;

• The reputation of the Bank continues to soar and has been recognized as a trusted partner for AfCFTA by the African Union, with more than 50 member States across Africa;

• Afreximbank has come up with unique solutions to the problems being faced by Africa as it seeks to achieve a self-reliant continent. The Bank has joined the digitalized world and has developed a series of instruments/initiatives to address trade challenges in the continent. Significant among them are establishing the MANSA Digital Initiative Platform – a flagship Initiative aimed at alleviating the effects of de-risking, which has negatively impacted most financial institutions. Another example is establishing the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) Platform to facilitate intra-African trade payments. The story goes on. WL