Think Business Africa

Banking Awards 2025

Banking Awards 2025

THEME: EDUCATE, EMPOWER, ENRICH: THE FINANCIAL LITERACY PROMISE

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Tuesday, April 30th, 2025 

JW Marriott Hotel, Nairobi

Ochieng Oloo

About The Awards

We invite you to participate in the upcoming Banking Awards 2025, which will be held on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at the JW Marriott Hotel ballroom, starting at 6:30 PM.

Theme and Focus

“Educate, Empower, Enrich: The Financial Literacy Promise” our theme for this year, encapsulates the transformative journey of financial education in Kenya, making it an ideal theme for the Banking Awards 2025. This powerful theme reflects the banking sector’s commitment to equipping citizens with crucial financial knowledge, enabling informed decision-making, and ultimately fostering economic prosperity across the nation.

The theme’s three pillars align perfectly with Kenya’s banking landscape:

  1. Educate: Emphasizes the sector’s dedication to spreading financial knowledge, from basic concepts to advanced financial planning.
  2. Empower: Highlights how financial literacy gives individuals the confidence and tools to take control of their financial lives.
  3. Enrich: Underscores the ultimate goal of financial education – improving the economic well-being of individuals and communities.

This theme resonates strongly with Kenya’s Vision 2030 goals, emphasizing the role of financial literacy in driving inclusive growth and empowering individuals to build more resilient financial futures. It acknowledges the rapid digitalization of banking services in Kenya and the need for corresponding education to ensure no one is left behind.

 

Furthermore, “The Financial Literacy Promise” speaks to the long-term commitment of Kenya’s banking sector to support sustainable economic development. It recognizes that financial education is not a one-time effort but an ongoing promise to the Kenyan people, supporting their journey from financial awareness to financial success.

 

By adopting this theme, the Banking Awards 2025 will spotlight institutions that have made significant strides in promoting financial literacy, thereby contributing to the nation’s economic empowerment and prosperity.

Key Changes and Updates

  1. New Award Categories: We have introduced new categories and revised existing ones to ensure comprehensive industry participation. A notable addition of the category “Banks with the Best Financial Literacy Programs”
  2. Judging Criteria: We have refined our judging criteria to include a stronger focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, as well as financial performance metrics.
  3. Submission Process: Entries will be submitted through our secure platform, ThinkAwards. Please provide names and emails of at least two people who will have access to the platform for your institution.

How to Participate

  1. Visit our awards website bankingawards.co.ke for detailed information and to access the ThinkAwards platform.
  2. Review the attached documents for comprehensive details on award categories, judging criteria, and submission guidelines.
  3. Prepare your entries according to the specified criteria for each category you wish to enter.

 

We believe that your participation will contribute significantly to the growth and innovation in Kenya’s banking sector. By showcasing best practices and achievements, we aim to drive competition, innovation, and stability in the industry.

Should you have any questions or require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@thinkbusinessafrica.com.

Below are some pointers about the awards:

  1. Log on to our awards website  www.bankingawards.co.ke.  Click on the submit entry link which will take you to our new awards platform ThinkAwards
  2. Make sure it is clear what individual, department, company (or companies in the case of joint entries), you are entering. You can enter more than one project or program in a category.
  3. Include a summary of the product/company or individual you are entering for an award.
  4. Attach supporting documents: on your first page provide a simple covering statement of the story behind the project or program you have entered.
  5. Each category has its own judging criteria and parameters. Ensure that you provide information for each parameter as indicated in each award category.
  6. Pay attention to the maximum score awarded for each parameter.
  7. Attach relevant reference/supporting details including photos, videos as well as customer testimonials where applicable and available.
  8. If measurable targets were achieved, it is important to provide that evidence, i.e what the target was, if and how it was were achieved.

NB: No paper or late entries will be accepted. Entrants are not required to submit any financial reports.

Award Categoories

The Best Bank in Kenya 2025 will be the Bank that best demonstrates the following: Commitment to Environment, Social and Governance factors (EGS) best practices, products and process innovation, good customer ratings on its products and services as well as solid financial performance.

Tier I are banks with total assets in excess of Ksh. 250 Billion. All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 2, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Tier II are banks with total assets less than Ksh 250 Billion but more than Ksh 75 Billion. All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 1, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Tier III are banks with total assets less than Ksh 75 Billion but more than Ksh 20 Billion. All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 1, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Tier IV are banks with total assets less than Ksh 20 Billion. All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 2, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

A tariff survey on bank tariffs will inform the winners in this category. An index for banks based on the charges levied to their customers. The basis of the rankings will be on three scenarios modeled around the banking activities of three typical customers then assessing how each customer would have been charged for similar transactions by each bank over a twelve month period.

This category is open to all banks. The wining bank will need to be financially stable, as evidenced in our analysis and also score well in ESG factors. Most importantly, this award is given to the bank with the lowest overall charge for a borrower taking a loan, these include legal and setup fees.

The category looks at the overall customer experience with their banks. A country wide Customer satisfaction survey commissioned by Think Business and conducted by Infotrak Research & Consulting, amongst other information derived from entry document will be used to determine the winners.

Customers are looking for convenient banking, Mobile banking offers them this opportunity and the bank that will survive the competition is the bank that offers the most effective mobile banking application.

Internet Banking has grown tremendously over the years particularly with the middle class and corporate banking clientele. This category will award the best bank in provision of internet banking as an alternative channel to its customers particularly through a website.

Several banks in Kenya have embraced agency banking as a means to spread their network, moving services closer to the people and easing congestion in their banking halls. The advent of agency banking is already lowering the cost of doing business for many banks.

Entry is open to all products in the banking sector that entrants feel are most innovative. The judges will be looking for breakthrough products developed through cutting edge design, research and development that has redefined the market by improving usability, access and value to the customer

Here the judges typically assess the product that was presented and delivered most effectively to the market. The winning entry will be that product that offers greater value to the customer based on the core elements of marketing – the bank’s pricing model, distribution network, promotional strategy and value addition of the product. Through a survey, bank customers are also asked to state what bank products were effectively sold to them.

This is open to all banks whose focus is mainly on SME banking. First, they are assessed on ESG factors and financial soundness using the ten key financial ratios that are also used to determine the Best Bank in Kenya with a maximum score of 60%

This category is open to banks that have a focus on Mortgage Finance.

This is open to all full-fledged Islamic banks and other commercial banks with Islamic banking windows. Under this category, banks are first assessed on the basis of corporate governance and financial soundness (of the Islamic component).

This category is open to banks that have a focus on Asset Financing.

This category is open to banks that have a focus on Agriculture Financing

This category is open to banks that have a focus on Trade Financing and Trade Financing related products

This is open to the Tier I banks, because of their lead in customer numbers and deposits. Under this category, banks are first assessed on the basis of corporate governance and financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters that are used in The Banking Survey rankings, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Typically, the big companies will only deal with banks that are successful, stable and measure up to their needs and quality standards.

The judges assess the banks with the best focus in Micro finance.

This shall basically be determined by the lowest cost income ratio in 2023. This is a financial ratio that looks at what it costs to generate a certain level of income. All the banks are assessed equally regardless of size.

The Judges will be looking at the most sustainable turnaround from loss making to profitability. The winner will be the bank that has sustained profitability for at least three years.

The critical need for corporates to be socially responsible by giving back to society cannot be gainsaid. The objective of this award is to recognize banks that are doing well on this front and to encourage those that have not embraced CSR to do the same.

Digital technology is dramatically changing how banks interact with their customers. Social media is transforming banking relationships in very significant ways, from improving customer service to allowing users to send money to others via online platforms.

All Micro-Finance Banks are first assessed on corporate governance practices and financial soundness. Financial soundness is determined by 10 different parameters that are used in The Banking Survey rankings, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

This shall basically be determined by the lowest cost income ratio in 2023. This is a financial ratio that looks at what it costs to generate a certain level of income. All the banks are assessed equally regardless of size.

Digital technology is dramatically changing how banks interact with their customers. Social media is transforming banking relationships in very significant ways, from improving customer service to allowing users to send money to others via online platforms

Entry is open to all banking products development by the Micro-Finance banks that provide innovative solution for the informal and micro finance sector.

This category is open to MF banks that have a focus on Agriculture and Livestock Financing.

This is the MF bank that has exhibited the fastest growth consistently over the past 3 years (2021 – 2023)

Contact Info

Think Business Limited,

4th Flr. Delta Corner Annex, Wayiaki Way, Westlands, Nairobi

P.O. Box 12800 – 00100 GPO, Nairobi

Website: www.thinkbusinessafrica.com

+254 704 096 289

+254 0722 335 421

info@thinkbusinessafrica.com