Abiola Bawuah – GWBD

Abena Amoah
Board Member, Central Securities Depository

Abiola Bawuah, is a renowned finance and businesswoman who has made tremendous strides in the banking industry. She made history as the first woman to become the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2014. Bawuah has won several awards for her work, including the 2016 Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana Marketing Woman of the Year and the Finance Personality of the Year Award at the Ghana Accountancy and Finance.

Bawuah spent her early years in Aflao and had her secondary level education at the Achimota School. She later pursued her education at the University of Lagos in Nigeria, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science. Bawuah also has a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of London, a diploma in marketing from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and an Executive of Master of Business Administration (EMBA) in finance from the University of Ghana. She also holds several qualifications in leadership from renowned institutions such as Harvard Business School, Columbia University, University of New York, INSEAD, and Institut Villa Pierrefeu in Switzerland.

Bawuah currently serves as the Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Bank for Africa, responsible for six countries comprising Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Prior to that, she worked with Standard Chartered Bank as a Business Relationship Officer, CAL Bank as a relationship manager, Strategic African Securities as an authorized dealing broker, and with the then Bentsi-Enchi and Letsa (now Bentsi-Enchil, Letsa, and Ankomah) law firm as an investment officer. Recently, in January 2023, Abiola Bawuah made history once again by becoming the first female CEO of UBA Africa.

Aside from her notable achievements in banking, Bawuah is also an author and founder of a non-profit organization called Abiola Bawuah Foundation. Her memoir, Chosen from the Darkness, is a book that inspires readers to believe in themselves and their dreams.

Bawuah’s achievements and awards include being named one of Africa’s 50 Influential Women in Business by the African Report in July 2018 and winning the EMY Awards Woman of the Year 2020. Her outstanding work in the banking industry has undoubtedly made a significant impact, paving the way for more women to take up leadership roles in the corporate world.

Abiola Bawuah is ranked in Avance Media’s Inaugural list of Top 100 Ghana’s Women Board Directors collated in partnership with Acreaty Ghana.