Former Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Asia, Kwamina Bentsi Enchill Duker has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank Ghana (DBG).
Kwamina Bentsi Enchill Duker brings to DBG, over 30 years of experience in finance and investment across different geographies including the UK, Asia and Ghana.
This was announced in a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, which also named a seven-member Board of Directors to oversee the affairs of the bank.
The Ministry of Finance statement sighted by Citi Business News noted that the move follows an open and competitive search coordinated by PwC (Ghana) and is in line with the relevant sections of the Development Finance Institutions Act 2020 (Act 1032, 2020) under which the Bank is regulated by the Bank of Ghana.
Kwamina Bentsi Enchill Duker is expected to use his rich experience to lead the Bank in mobilising long-term funds to support some sectors of the economy.
He has in-depth knowledge in Treasury and Foreign Exchange (FX) markets from Deutsche Bank (UK and Singapore), Nomura Bank (UK) and Midland Bank (UK) where he held various senior positions.
He was the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Asia, a subsidiary of Fidelity Bank Ghana with a total asset of over GH¢105 billion, within which he subsequently served as a board member.
He also served on the board of Consolidated Bank Ghana and assumed the role of Head of Global Markets FX and Deutsche Bank (UK) with assets under management in Europe of over €122 billion.
Bentsi Enchill Duker also was the CEO of OANDA Corporation, where he had full oversight responsibility of the company’s operations with a staff strength of over 200 and revenue of over US$100 million.
Appointment of Board of Directors
The seven-member Board of Directors has Dr. Yaw Ansu, an economist who has over 36 years of professional experience working with institutions such as the World Bank, as the board chairman.
Other members of the Board include Stephan Leudesdorff, Charles Boamah, Rosemary Yeboah, Mary Boakye, Yaw Nsarkoh, and Nora Bannerman-Abbott.
The African Development Bank (AFDB) will have a seat on the board, while the World Bank and German Development Cooperation, KfW will each have observer status on the board.
Expectations of the Board
The primary focus areas of DBG are agribusiness (especially, off-farm value-chain activities), manufacturing, ICT and allied services, tourism, among others, and it’s expected to propel economic growth, create jobs, and improve domestic revenue mobilization.
The Government expects DBG to use its strong financial position to support the growth of the private sector companies, create high-quality jobs and enable Ghana’s private sector to compete more favourablely within the AfCFTA framework.
The Board has been tasked to rapidly establish its international pedigree and to scale up its resource envelope to drive the country’s economic transformation agenda in line with the Ghana Beyond Aid.
Click here to read the full statement from the Ministry of Finance
