The Chief Executive of Nigeria’s Bank of Industry, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, was recently honoured with the Special African Banking Leadership Commendation Award during the just-concluded 9th edition of the International Forum on African-Caribbean Leadership (IFAL), which was held on the margins of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the New York Hilton Midtown, USA, on September 21, 2023, with the theme: African-Caribbean Cooperation and Today’s Geopolitics.
The award is in recognition of Mr. Pitan’s contributions to the leadership achievements and contributions to the growth of Nigeria’s industrial sector. As the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, Nigeria’s oldest and largest development finance institution, Mr. Pitan draws from significant experience gained across various financial services sectors, including banking and capital markets, during his over 30-year career in carrying out the mandate of the Bank. Under his leadership, the Bank of Industry has significantly transformed Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing affordable long-term financing and counter-cyclical loans diversified across various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
In the last 5 years, he has pioneered several innovative transactions in the Nigerian capital market and the international financial market towards Nigeria’s economic development. To date, he has led the Bank of Industry to successfully raise about $5 billion from the international market through syndications and the bond market over the last four years. The bank, under his leadership, has also consistently promoted financial inclusion by supporting the expansion of over 3 million enterprises, which created over 7 million jobs for the Nigerian people.
At the International Forum on African-Caribbean Leadership (IFAL) in New York, Mr. Pitan was honoured alongside the President of Guyana, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali; the Vice President of The Gambia, H.E. Muhammad B. S. Jallow; and the Minister for Sea, Culture, and Tourism, Cabo Verde, Hon. Jose Gonçalves.
Other high-level policymakers and business and diplomatic leaders at the event in New York include H.E. Dr. Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Gambia; Hon. Serign Modou Njie, Minister of Defence, The Gambia; Amb. Dr. Lamin B. Dibba, The Gambian Ambassador to the United Nations; Amb. Momodou Lamine Bah, The Gambian Ambassador to the United States; Dr. Anselmo Monteiro, President, National Institute of Social Security, Angola; Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary-General, Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities; Hon. Rosalyn Myers, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives, USA; Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade, Afrexim Bank; among others.
The International Forum on African-Caribbean Leadership (IFAL) is an annual flagship event of the African Leadership Magazine that is held annually on the side of the United Nations General Assembly. Over the past 8 years, the event has become a platform that connects world leaders, especially from Africa and the Caribbean nations, policymakers, and private sector leaders, with a focus on the challenges and progress of the African people, strengthening trans-regional cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean nations, building strategic partnerships and bilateral cooperation, as well as increasing engagements in trade and investments, innovation and technology transfer, culture and tourism, and other sectors.
