Adenike Laoye Appointed as Chair of Accion MFB

Leading microfinance bank, Accion Microfinance Bank, has appointed Mrs. Adenike Laoye as its new Board Chair.

Established in 2006, Accion MFB Limited began operations in May 2007 upon obtaining the Central Bank of Nigeria licence and has continuously empowered and supported business owners in Nigeria over the years.

Mrs. Laoye was appointed a non-executive director representing Ecobank Nigeria on the board of Accion MFB on January 5, 2017. She has a Law degree and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1991.

Mrs. Laoye joined Ecobank Group in 1993, where she rose to become the Head of Legal and Regulatory Unit of Ecobank Nigeria in 2000 and subsequently the Company Secretary/Chief Legal Counsel in 2002. She has had over 30 years of experience as legal counsel in a financial services company, 17 years of which, was as Chief Legal Counsel. In March 2019, she took up the role of Chief of Staff to the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Lome, Togo, the parent company of the Ecobank Group. She also doubled as Group Head, Corporate Communications.

As Chief of Staff, Mrs. Laoye coordinated and effectively took charge of the office of the GCEO of the Ecobank Group whose direct reports included 33 Managing Directors from across 33 African countries, gaining strong exposure to finance, banking, and macroeconomics across the African continent. In the role, she also had close interaction with several international multilateral agencies.

She has attended executive programs at INSEAD, Harvard, and Cranfield amongst others.

She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association as well as an Honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

She was recognised by Chambers as a 2021 General Counsel Influencer for Africa. She led her Legal team at Ecobank Nigeria to win the 2013 Acquisition International Team of the Year and In-House Legal Department of the Year 2010 in the maiden edition of the Business Day Legal award in Nigeria.

Mrs. Laoye is an ardent proponent of financial inclusion, best corporate governance practices, and a strong believer in sustainable development goals. She brings to the Board over thirty (30) years of professional experience in the Financial Services Industry.

Accion MFB was founded by Accion International, International Finance Corporation, Ecobank, Citibank Nigeria, and Zenith Bank. Accion International has been in the microfinance space for over 40 years and partners with over 30 microfinance organisations throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa, as well as serving United States (US) micro-entrepreneurs through the US.