Abena Osei-Poku spearheads Ecobank’s West African expansion, focusing on digital banking, governance, and regional financial integration.
Abena Osei-Poku is an exceptional financial expert. For close to thirty years, the top banking executive has steadily risen to the pinnacle of banking through dedication, resilience, and a vision shaped by extensive experience in the financial sector.
On 1 January 2024, she was appointed Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana and Regional Executive for Anglophone West Africa. Her responsibilities include overseeing Ghana’s operations with 65 branches, over 248 ATMs, and a comprehensive digital infrastructure, while also guiding the bank’s strategic direction across Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and other Anglophone countries in the region.
Meet Abena Osei-Poku
Osei-Poku is no stranger to high-stakes leadership. Before joining Ecobank, she led Absa Bank Ghana, formerly Barclays, from 2018 to 2023. She not only managed daily operations but also supervised the rebranding of Barclays Ghana to Absa – one of the most significant corporate transitions in Ghanaian banking history. The project required strategic execution, deep customer engagement, and steady leadership, all of which she provided. Before that, she held senior roles at Barclays Bank in South Africa, overseeing Corporate & Investment Banking across East and West Africa.
Born in Ghana around 1971, Osei-Poku earned a BA in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana in 1994, followed by an MBA in Strategy and Finance from the Manchester Business School in the UK. Her academic background provided a solid foundation for subsequent roles, first at Standard Chartered Bank in 2002, where she managed global corporates and special assets in West and Central Africa, and later across the Barclays/Absa network.
Leading Ecobank with precision
Now, at Ecobank, Osei-Poku’s focus is firmly on growth, transformation, and profitability. Under her leadership, Ecobank Ghana has intensified its emphasis on digital banking, with most customer transactions now conducted digitally. The Ecobank Mobile App alone has over one million users in Ghana. She has also driven investments in infrastructure, including expanding agency banking, upgrading ATMs, and installing additional cash deposit machines. All these initiatives enhance banking accessibility for customers and businesses alike.
Osei-Poku is also strengthening operational discipline, automating manual processes, reducing costs, and implementing tighter controls across all functions to boost efficiency. She is working closely with ministries such as Ghana’s Ministry of Communications to promote fintech innovation, digital inclusion, and national cybersecurity objectives.
Beyond her banking responsibilities, Abena Osei-Poku actively influences the future of finance and governance in Ghana. Since October 2021, she has served as Chairperson of the Ghana Stock Exchange, becoming only the second woman in 26 years to hold that position.
She chairs the Advisory Board of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Ghana and participates in the executive councils of the Ghana Association of Banks and the National Banking College. Her influence extends across various industries, from Airtel Mobile Money to the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce. She is also a passionate advocate for female leadership in finance and governance.
