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Uganda Bankers’ Association (UBA)⏤the umbrella association of financial institutions supervised by the Bank of Uganda⏤ has announced that the 2024 edition of its flagship Annual Bankers Conference shall be held on Wednesday, the 19th of June 2024 at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
Organised by the Uganda Bankers’ Association (UBA), together with the Bank of Uganda, the Annual Bankers’ Conference (ABC) is a signature industry event that brings together regulators, practitioners and various industry experts from domestic, regional, international and national spheres involved in delivering financial/banking services, to discuss issues, trends, drivers and dynamics that are increasingly shaping sustainability strategies in banking, finance and the overall development ecosystem.
First hosted in 2017, the Annual Bankers Conference has remained a key initiative in the UBA annual calendar that provides good opportunities for networking & building partnerships, promotes financial sector growth & economic development by taking stock & gaining insights from global, regional and domestic trends in the banking and financial sector and continuously supporting innovations within the Ugandan banking and financial services sector.
This year’s event is being held under the theme: Navigating the Future of Banking: ESG, Sustainability, and Digital Transformation.
The event will, according to Julius Kakeeto, the UBA Chairman, be headlined by Dr. Martin Luke Oduor-Otieno, one of the leading leadership coaches in the Eastern African region, as a keynote speaker.
“We will have a very rich session on the 19th. We have lined up various resource persons and speakers with expertise on the theme. While the keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Martin Luke Oduor-Otieno, we have a number of panel sessions on various topics such as energy, sustainability, green finance, and the digital revolution and how they are impacting the banking landscape as well as the opportunities therein,” Wilbrod Owor, the UBA Executive Director, told the media, at a press conference to announce the event this week.
Explaining the choice of ESG as a theme, Mr Kakeeto said that ESG has become “very vital for business sustainability”.
“One of the major reasons is that there is a lot of interconnectedness between financial performance and ESG. A lot of the well-performing organisations have embraced the ESG journey and are very far ahead in terms of this journey. ESG enhances accountability to society, community and other stakeholders such as investors and customers as it embeds environmental, social and governance best practices into your operations,” he said, adding: “ESG is becoming a crucial global concern; heightening awareness of issues like climate change, social equality, corporate misconduct, and a lot of other issues that are affecting the performance of organisations”.
The Annual Bankers’ Conference, amongst others, is sponsored by Mastercard, aBi Finance Limited and ACELI Africa.
The Annual Bankers’ Conference, now in its 7th year, takes place against the backdrop of the Uganda Bankers’ Association’s big shift towards integrating ESG and sustainability principles into the operations and ways of doing business by member institutions.
UBA, this week, on the 4th of June 2024, launched an industry-wide ESG framework that seeks to guide UBA members through the process of getting ESG buy-in across all institutional levels, securing & allocating resources (human, financial, technical etc); building capacity to implement ESG activities (policies, the existence of processes and procedures, training/skilling, configuring systems, measuring, reporting, creating awareness); as well as risk avoidance or mitigation (operational, reputational or other).
Doing well by doing good
Mr. Owor further said that beyond adopting the industry framework, the conference will dig deep into the opportunities and challenges presented by fully adopting ESG and sustainability principles moving forward. It will also be an opportunity for the sector to get input from other industry stakeholders.
“We’re looking forward to a rich conference,” he said at the press conference.
In a speech read for him by Racheal Kadama, the Manager, Markets Humanitarian & Development at Mastercard, Shehryar Bakht Ali, the Mastercard Country Manager East Africa and Indian Ocean Island, said that his year’s theme “resonates with Mastercard’s global mission of Continue Doing Well By Doing Good”.
“Our commitment goes beyond financial transactions. We aim to empower communities, support sustainable development, and nurture inclusive growth that benefits everyone, everywhere. Over the past two decades, Mastercard has been leading efforts in Financial inclusion, developing secure digital payment ecosystems and using technology to enhance access to banking services not just here in Africa but globally. As a global technology company in the payments industry, we support innovative partnerships that build and power an inclusive economy. UBA’s efforts are crucial because they highlight the interconnectedness between financial performance and environmental, social and governance practices, guiding the banking industry and integrating these principles into their operations,” said Mr. Shehryar Bakht Ali.
“The financial landscape evolves very quickly, driven by ESG practices and new technologies that transform traditional banking models and expand digital financial services. In Uganda and across Africa, our FinTech sector is booming, creating unique opportunities to use ESG strategies that support sustainable and fair economic growth. This year’s Banker’s Conference explores how these ESG factors are key to shaping financial services. Experts will share insights on groundbreaking ESG-focused innovations that not only enhance financial inclusion but also ensure sustainability and resilience in banking,” Shehryar Bakht Ali further said.
Mrs. Mona Muguma Ssebuliba, the aBi Finance Chief Executive Officer also reiterated her organisation’s shared purpose with both UBA and the conference’s theme.
“aBi Finance is a 14-year-old institution that is focused on financial inclusion and green financing for smallholder farmers and agribusinesses. But to do that, we partner with all the supervised financial institutions under the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) and so a partnership like this naturally makes sense,” she said.
“Supporting an intervention like the development, dissemination and understanding of the ESG framework works perfectly for us and speaks well to our mandate, because while our focus is mostly on financial inclusion, with respect to agribusinesses, and smallholder farmers, any institution that understands environmental management, social inclusion, and good governance will naturally then have an understanding of things that are affecting the sector, especially climate change,” she added.
Who is Dr. Martin Luke Oduor-Otieno?
Dr. Oduor-Otieno is the founder and CEO of The Leadership Group Limited, a Nairobi-based consulting firm, which is involved in facilitating board practice and leadership training as well as providing executive coaching and business advisory services.
He previously worked with Deloitte East Africa as a Financial Services Partner, and with KCB Group as Chief Executive Officer, among other senior private sector appointments. He has also served as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning and The Treasury, in the Government of Kenya.
Dr. Oduor-Otieno holds an honorary Doctor of Business Leadership degree from KCA University, an Executive MBA from ESAMI/ Maastricht School of Management and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Nairobi.
He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme and a Fellow of the Kenya Institute of Bankers, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, Institute of Directors Kenya and Institute of Certified Secretaries Kenya in addition to holding the International Coaching Federation’s credential as a Professional Certified Coach.
In recognition of his contribution to national development in Kenya, Dr. Oduor-Otieno was awarded the honour of Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) by the Head of State.
Dr. Oduor-Otieno is the Group Chairman of EABL as well as the Chairman of Kenya Breweries Limited and UDV (Kenya) Limited, both subsidiaries of EABL. He is also a Non-Executive Director in BAT Kenya Plc, Standard Bank Group and Standard Bank of South Africa.
In January 2016 he founded The Leadership Group (K) Limited which he leads up to today.