Excerpts from the speech delivered by Ecobank Chairman Papa Madiaw Ndiaye on the fortieth anniversary of the pan-African group.
Tonight, we gather in Lomé, the birthplace of an extraordinary dream. This city sheltered our early doubts, nurtured our first hopes, and strengthened the conviction that Africa could shape its own financial destiny. Through the Ecobank Group's headquarters agreement, Togo became not only our host, but also the guardian of a bold ambition: that Africans could create a cross-border bank dedicated to serving the continent. Togo's support for Ecobank's vision has been both historic and unwavering.
Forty years ago, seventy founders made a decision that altered Africa's financial landscape. Tonight, we honour those elders who chose collaboration rather than fragmentation, and self-determination rather than dependence. They believed in the idea of a pan-African bank even when many doubted such an institution could ever be realised. Their courage must never be forgotten.
They took this step at a time when Africa had no cross-border banking infrastructure, no harmonised regulatory environment, very limited capital, and deep scepticism about the continent's ability to create a world-class institution. Despite these obstacles, those seventy visionaries chose to build.
Ecobank's progress since then has been steady and determined, unfolding country by country and decade after decade. Today, it stands as a bridge connecting English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking Africa, a bridge between Africa and the wider world, a trusted partner for governments and regulators, and a catalyst for trade and continental integration. It is a systemic institution that helps shape markets, a genuinely pan-African organisation generating real growth in markets once dismissed as too small, and a living testament to what Africans can achieve when discipline and determination converge.
For forty years, Ecobank has shown that Africa can create institutions that are sustainable, successful and inspiring. To past, present and future Ecobankers: you are the driving force behind this achievement. Together with the executive management team, we will ensure that Ecobank remains at the forefront of the continent's financial transformation. It is, and must continue to be, a model of pan-African excellence.
The decades ahead are now in our hands. History will judge us not by what we inherited, but by the strength with which we preserved it and by the new foundations we dared to lay.