The Changing Role of National Development Banks in Africa: DBG-UGBS Round Table Dialogue Series
The third (3rd) series of the Development Finance Dialogue was successfully delivered by Prof. Joshua Yindenaba Abor, a Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) & Afreximbank Research Fellow on Wednesday, 29th November 2023. The theme for the dialogue series was, “The Changing Role of National Development Banks in Africa”. As an initiative by the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) in collaboration with the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), this round table event aims to educate graduate students on the relevance of Development Finance and the role of Development Banks.
In a brief welcome address, Prof. Vera O. Fiador, an Associate Professor of Finance at UGBS spoke briefly about the previous roundtable events. She also encouraged the guests to relax and enjoy the informative presentation as had been anticipated.
Prof. Abor’s presentation covered the Landscape of National Development Banks (NDBs) in Africa, Theoretical perspectives of Development Banking, their Business Models, Contemporary Roles and Contributions, Challenges of NDBs, Lessons learned from NDBs experiences in Africa, the Future of NDBs and Policy Implications.
His lecture was mainly based on his latest book “The changing role of national development banks in Africa: Business models, governance and sustainability”, published by Palgrave Macmillan in August this year.
In his delivery, he emphasised that, in as much as National Development Banks seek to contribute to development through financing, they face some challenges which include the lack of commercial focus, the changing competitive environment, political interference in governance and management, attracting and retaining qualified personnel, inadequate monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and impact evaluation structures etc.
Ending the presentation, he made some suggestions for the future of NDBs based on his research findings and allowed a question-and-answer session for clarifications and other submissions.
Present at the roundtable event were representatives from some recognised banks in Ghana, some staff and faculty of UGBS, some students of the Department of Finance and Prof. Justice Bawole, the Dean of the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS).
Prof. Bawole thereafter commended Prof. Abor for the great work, the impact he has been making in the world of finance and for sharing his findings of his latest research book with other people. He again encouraged all present to always honour such invitations to help develop themselves and the nation.