- KBA CEO Among Top Executives In Africa In Association Management
Nairobi 17th October – Kenya Bankers Association, the umbrella body of the banking industry and lead advocacy group of the financial services sector in Kenya, has been selected as one of the best associations on the Continent by The Association of Association Executives (AAE). The award winners will be announced on 30th October 2018 during the Africa Association Congress that will be held in Pretoria, South Africa. Of note, KBA has been shortlisted as Best Association in Africa and KBA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Habil Olaka has been nominated as Best Association Leader of the Year.
Past recipients of awards sponsored by the AAE include the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and International Association of Young Lawyers. KBA will also be showcased as an Africa Success Story in digital communications during the Congress Program that is curated by AAE and attracts chief executives and directors of associations from around the world. Founded in 2006, AAE is the largest community of association executives with more than 19,000 members in Europe, the UK, Africa, India and the Middle East.
The objectives of AAE include spreading best practice; and supporting member organisations to improve their management practices, sustain their organisations, and to develop products and services that enhance member value. Its members are from professional, scientific, learning, business and consumer-facing associations, societies, federations, councils, chambers, and other membership organisations across several sectors.
“We are very pleased to have been nominated for this prestigious international award,” said KBA Chief Executive Dr. Habil Olaka. “I sincerely thank the KBA Governing Council, all our members and our staff for the commendable effort that has gone into establishing KBA as a leading industry association on the Continent. Our vision is to play a key role in supporting industry growth and development and, by doing so, contribute to Kenya’s sustainable development,” he added.
“We also thank our sector regulators, the many partners we have worked with on numerous initiatives, and most importantly the banking public for having confidence in us,” said Dr. Olaka.
Kenya Bankers Association was founded in 1962. In its formative years, the sole focus of the Association was to negotiate with the labor union and manage industrial relations. Under Dr. Olaka’s leadership, the Association has evolved and broadened its mandate to include promoting industry growth and development through research and policy engagement and initiatives focused on enhancing industry efficiency through digital technology.
Recognized internationally as a leading organisation, KBA’s Center for Research on Financial Markets and Policy has quickly become a groundswell for banking enquiry, publishing more papers and articles on banking than any other institution in East Africa. Beyond policy influence, the Association plays a material role in the development of the financial services sector, including banking and payments through the launch of the industry’s first peer-to-peer digital payments platform PesaLink. PesaLink, which processes bank-account-to-bank-account transfers 24-hours a day, seven-days a week, has moved more than Sh87 billion or USD 700 million in just 17 months since its launch.
KBA champions other industry projects in conjunction with the sector regulators. These projects focus on enhancing efficiency and supporting financial inclusion. The most recent partnership was signed on 26th September 2018 between KBA and the Capital Markets Authority to collaborate on research and policy proposals to drive domestic participation in the capital markets. KBA is consulting on other areas of innovation, including the use of blockchain, robotics and artificial intelligence in banking.
In line with the Government’s policy on public-private partnerships, KBA and Central Bank of Kenya have implemented key projects to modernize the national payments system. The Automated Clearing House, which KBA operates in conjunction with CBK, maintains a 99.9 percent uptime performance record and has cut down clearing cycles from 21 days to 2 days for local currency cheques and by 5 days for US Dollar clearing, enhancing market liquidity.
In addition, KBA initiated the Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI) which has articulated the industry’s ambition to contribute towards sustainable economic development while mitigating economic, environmental and social risks. The SFI features an online e-learning program which has sensitized more than 28 thousand bank employees on the importance of Sustainable Finance, including Green Finance and inclusive banking.
For its leadership, KBA has hosted bankers’ associations from several countries including Ghana, Mongolia, Egypt and Somalia, which have visited KBA in Nairobi to learn about best practice in industry association management.
To learn more about the Association awards visit www.associationawards.org and http://associationexecutives.org. For more information on KBA visit www.kba.co.ke or follow @KenyaBankers on Twitter.
Contact Information:
Nuru Mugambi
Kenya Bankers Association
Director – Communications and Public Affairs
Phone: +254-20-2221704/2224014
Cell: 0717023318
Email: nmugambi@kba.co.ke
Anca Urdea
Awards Manager
Africa Association Awards
UK Association Awards
International & European Association Awards
