Standard Chartered Bank has deepened its commitment to advancing financial leadership across East Africa through a strategic partnership with CFOs East Africa, supporting the 2025 CFO Awards and launching an advisory programme aimed at enhancing wealth-management and strategic capabilities among senior finance executives.
The initiative will deliver specialized wealth management advisory services to more than 400 top finance officers drawn from global, African, and local corporations, including public sector institutions, development finance bodies and private companies.
“Kenya’s trajectory is increasingly tied to the ability of its corporate leaders to balance short-term performance and long-term wealth creation,” said Edith Chumba, Head of Wealth & Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Kenya & East Africa.
The bank said the expanding scope for CFOs now requires them not only to drive corporate financial performance but also to play a role in personal wealth preservation amid rising economic volatility.
Under the partnership, CFOs East Africa will leverage Standard Chartered’s global expertise to help finance leaders “lead with insight, agility, and a wealth-preservation mindset that fuels sustainable growth.”
According to KC Rottok Chesaina, Executive Communities Director at CFOs East Africa, equipping CFOs with language around risk-adjusted returns and wealth preservation can shift boardroom conversations from cost control to value creation.
“When a CFO can speak fluently about risk-adjusted returns and wealth preservation, the boardroom shifts from cost control to value creation. Standard Chartered’s expertise gives our members that competitive edge,” Rottok noted.
This year’s CFO East Africa Awards recognized top financial executives making significant contributions in corporate governance, finance transformation, strategic execution and high-performance team leadership.
Among the honourees is the CFO of a major telecoms group, recognized for leading that company’s expansion into Ethiopia. Others include finance leaders from regional telecom and corporate entities awarded for innovation, transformation, and team leadership.
Safaricom Group CFO Dilip Pal won East Africa’s CFO of the Year, as well as the Strategy Execution Award for leading the company’s entry into Ethiopia.
MTN Uganda CFO Andrew Bugembe took home the Finance Transformation Award, while Vodacom Tanzania Finance Director Hilda Bujiku won the High-Performance Team Award.
Standard Chartered says the awards align with its mission to empower businesses navigating economic volatility, geopolitical uncertainty and policy shifts.
Standard Chartered, which has operated in Kenya for more than 110 years, said the partnership reflects its long-standing commitment to supporting economic growth and advancing professional excellence across the region.
The bank argued that strengthening CFO capabilities is critical at a time when economic uncertainty and policy shifts demand agility from corporate leaders.
As businesses across East Africa navigate a challenging macroeconomic environment marked by inflationary pressure, tighter credit conditions, and shifting regulatory landscapes, the new advisory programme aims to provide CFOs with the tools to preserve corporate and personal wealth, manage risk, and drive long-term value creation.
The move also underscores a broader trend in the financial services sector in Kenya, where institutions are increasingly playing a role beyond traditional banking, acting as enablers of capacity building, financial stewardship, and corporate governance.
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