Seychelles’ Central Bank Governor – Caroline Abel – wins African Bankers Award 2020
General |Author: Sharon Ernesta | August 27, 2020, Thursday @ 16:04| 409469 views
Abel is Seychelles’ first female Central Bank governor and was appointed in the post in March 2012. (Central Bank of Seychelles)
Caroline Abel, the governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS), is one of the winners of the African Banker Awards 2020.
Abel was given the award on Wednesday during the annual meeting, held online, of the African Development Bank. The awards are organised by African Banker magazine.
Abel said that she is humbled and honoured by this recognition. "The work is not done by the governor alone, but by a team of capable and dedicated individuals. Therefore, I would like to dedicate this award to the entire team at the Bank, who has been working tirelessly and making sacrifices to respond to the exigencies of the current crisis. Let this award encourage and inspire us all to continue working hard and uphold our credibility as we steer our economy through the storms,” the governor said in a statement that also thanked her family for their support.
Abel added that the award does not only highlight the achievements of her role but “also shines a spotlight on the work of CBS, which like other central banks has had to adapt to several challenges over the years, including the current COVID-19 pandemic.”
Abel’s nomination was made by the African Banker Awards Committee. Awards are presented in various categories, which the organisers said are aimed at honouring the achievements of individuals and institutions who have contributed significantly to the reform, modernisation and expansion of the banking and financial sector across the African continent.
“Seychelles is really a model student in Africa and beyond. And our Central Bank governor this year, Caroline Abel, is more than deserving of this award,” was how the award recipient was described.
According to the organisers “the Central Bank has been exemplary in its work be it on transparency, guidance to markets, in terms of its response to the current epidemic, in terms of playing its supervisory role for the banking sector and supporting the digitisation of banking and finance and also in terms of working alongside other institutions to provide stability and a supporting local economy.”
They added that “the Bank is playing a major role in supporting the local economy, which has suffered greatly from COVID-19, supporting the banking sector and injecting liquidity into the market, acting in unison with the different ministries to provide shock absorbers to the local economy, and acting in a manner that was timely and exemplary.”
The President of Seychelles - Danny Faure – has congratulated Abel on winning this award, saying he was “delighted that her hard work, dedication and professionalism had been internationally recognised.”
Faure added that the Seychellois were proud of Abel's achievement, which should serve as a motivation and an example for all institutions in Seychelles – 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean - to always aim for excellence.
Abel is Seychelles’ first female Central Bank governor and was appointed in the post in March 2012.