Accra, Jan. 31, GNA – The government has appointed Mr Kwamina Bentsi Enchill Duker, a finance and investment expert, as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG)
Through an open and competitive process coordinated by PwC (Ghana), the newly appointed Board of Directors of DBG, in consultation with Government, appointed Mr Duker as the first CEO of DBG.
Mr Duker, brings to DBG, over 30 years of experience in finance and investment across different geographies, including the United Kingdom, Asia and Ghana.
The Ministry of Finance, in a statement announcing the appointment, said: “He has in-depth knowledge in Treasury and Foreign Exchange (FX) markets from Deutsche Bank (the UK and Singapore), Nomura Bank (UK) and Midland Bank (UK), where he held various senior positions.”
Prior to his appointment, Mr Duker was the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Asia, a subsidiary of Fidelity Bank Ghana with a total asset of over GH¢ 105 billion, and subsequently served as a board member.
He has served on the Board of Consolidated Bank Ghana and assumed the role of Head of Global Markets FX and Deutsche Bank (UK) with assets under management in Europe of over €122 billion.
He was the CEO of OANDA Corporation where he had full oversight responsibility of the company’s operations with a staff strength of over 200 and revenue of over US$100 million.
The new CEO of DBG was, until recently, the Managing Director of Dwennimmen Group, an advisory firm, that is passionate about connecting world-class expertise to Africa.
Mr Duker holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of California and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Barking University, Essex, UK.
The Government and key Development Partners such as the Department for International Development (DFID), KfW, World Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), have over the past four years worked in designing and establishing DBG to help address the gaps in the Ghanaian credit markets, especially the availability of medium and long-term finance for the private sector.
DBG would facilitate business growth and job creation and accelerate economic transformation by supporting the financial sector through Participating Financial Institutions (PFI’s) in both the banking and capital market industries.
The primary focus areas of DBG are agribusiness (especially, off-farm value-chain activities), manufacturing, ICT and allied services, tourism, among others, and is expected to propel economic growth, create jobs and improve domestic revenue mobilisation.
The Ministry said DBG had become a key institution to promote private sector-led growth under the Ghana CARES Obaatanpa programme – an essential element for Ghana’s economic transformation post-covid.
DBG, it further stated, had commenced operations with initial total funding of over US$750 million from Government and notable Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s).
The Government expects the Bank to use its strong financial position to support the growth of the private sector companies, create high-quality jobs and enable Ghana’s private sector to compete more favourably within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
GNA