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About The MSME Finance Awards & MSME Finance CEO Awards

The MSME Finance Awards and MSME Finance CEO Awards are premier proprietary platform and flagship award recognition initiatives under The Economic Forum Series®, celebrating excellence, innovation, and impact in MSME financing across Africa. These awards spotlight financial institutions, fintechs, regulators, and industry leaders who are driving access to finance and fostering the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs

The MSME Finance Awards

The MSME Finance Awards is a sector-wide recognition of financial sector players and non-financial institutions including non state actors that have made significant contributions to MSME finance, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurship development. Award categories honor banks, fintechs, insurance, capital market players, development finance institutions (DFIs), regulators, and impact-driven financial solutions that enhance access to credit, funding, and financial services for MSMEs. The award is a fallout and an adjacent extension of the Annual MSME & Startup Summit conceptualized, curated and convened by the Economic Forum Series ® since 2018, it is open to industry and market leading MSME financial sector players, it is merit based and the selection of winners is based on a jury evaluation and an award review committee chaired by the Advisory Board of Economic Forum Media Group and Proshare Nigeria.

MSME Finance CEO Awards

The MSME Finance CEO Awards celebrate outstanding leadership in MSME financing, focusing on CEOs and executives whose strategic vision, innovation, and impact have shaped the MSME finance landscape. A key highlight is the Best CEO of the Year Award, which includes Seven (7) subcategories for :

  • Best CEO in Banking
  • Best CEO in FinTech
  • Best CEO in Microfinance (MFB)
  • Best CEO in Insurance
  • Best CEO in Development Finance (DFi)
  • Best CEO in Asset Finance
  • Best CEO in Capital Markets,

These awards are based on measurable impact on MSME financing, industry leadership, and innovation. The winners are selected through a jury evaluation and an awards review committee chaired by Proshare Nigeria and advisory board of Economic Forum Media Group.

2025 Edition & Key Highlights

Event Format: The awards are part of the MSME Finance CEO Forum & Awards, featuring a high-level forum for thought leadership, networking, and industry insights, followed by a prestigious gala ceremony.

Nominations Launch

The nomination process for the Best CEO of the Year Award launched in April 2025, with request for supporting documents like financial impact reports and testimonials required.

Strategic Partnerships

The awards engage key industry players across banking, fintech, insurance, capital markets including regulatory and policymakers.

These awards reinforce The Economic Forum Series®’ commitment to strengthening Africa’s MSME Finance ecosystem and recognizing leaders driving financial inclusion and business growth.

This structuted approach to the award will ensure that Top Leaders across the financial services sector get the recognition they deserve.