Gwendoline ABUNAW

Gwendoline ABUNAW is the Managing Director of Ecobank Cameroon, subsidiary of the leading Pan African financial services group present in 35 countries on the Continent. She is equally the Cluster Head for the CEMAC region covering 6 Ecobank affiliates including Cameroon, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Central African Republic. On June 2022, she became the first female President of the Cameroonian Banking and Financial Institutions’ Association known by its French acronym APECCAM, main entity representing all the banks and financial institutions in Cameroon.

Her tenure as Managing Director of Ecobank Cameroon has been marked by the successful execution of Ecobank Group’s digital transformation strategy with outstanding results year-on-year. Her ascension unto the role of CEMAC Cluster Head overseeing all 6 countries and her leadership have made her a role model for women in the region. She was recently recognized as the Woman of the Year 2023 in the banking and finance sector of the CEMAC region at the African Finance Banking and Digital Summit in Brazzaville, Congo in January 2024.

With over 20 years of banking experience, she has occupied C-suite roles since 2011, including Head of Corporate Banking for Cameroon with coverage of 6 other countries in central Africa, Deputy Managing Director and later, Managing Director of Ecobank Cameroon. In addition to her role as Managing Director for Cameroon and the CEMAC region, she is also a board member at Ecobank Cameroon, Ecobank Chad and E-Process International (Ecobank Technology Service Provider); as well as chairperson of the boards for Pan African Savings and Loans (Microfinance member of Ecobank Group), EDC Investment Corporation (Investment Bank member of Ecobank Group) and EDC Assets Management.

Gwendoline ABUNAW is a holder of both a Bachelor of Science Degree in Banking and Finance from Buea University (Cameroon) and an MBA from the London Metropolitan University (UK). Prior to joining Ecobank Cameroon in 2011, she occupied several roles at both Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank.

Mrs. ABUNAW is also a frequent speaker at conferences covering a range of topics, from women in leadership/empowerment; innovation/ digital transformation in the financial sector as well as youth engagement and technology.