UBA crowned Africa's Bank of the year 2025 for third time, dominates with 10 major awards

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has solidified its status as Africa’s leading financial institution, having been named the continent’s Bank of the Year 2025 by The Banker magazine for the third time in five years.

The prestigious award was accompanied by Best Bank of the Year titles in nine of UBA’s African markets—Benin, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.

This sweep of ten awards highlights the strength and geographic diversity of UBA’s pan-African network, spanning West, Central, and Southern Africa.

The Banker, a flagship publication of the Financial Times, praised UBA for “punching above its weight,” noting its impressive 46.8% growth in assets and strategic expansions. The awards were presented at a ceremony in London.

Group Managing Director/CEO,Oliver Alawuba, stated that the recognition validates the bank’s customer-focused strategy and execution.

“This honour reflects the strength of our Pan-African network, the trust of our customers, and the dedication of our people,” he said.

The bank’s digital leadership was also underscored, with innovations like the *919# USSD platform’s “buy-now-pay-later” feature and its AI chatbot, Leo, which saw a 29% transaction increase.

Notably, Leo recently became the first African banking chatbot to facilitate cross-border payments via the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

With over 45 million customers, 25,000 employees, and a presence in 20 African countries and four global financial centers, UBA continues to drive financial inclusion and economic development across the continent.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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