African Guarantee Fund appoints CEO Felix Bikpo as chairman

What you need to know:

Felix Bikpo has been appointed as the African Guarantee Fund chairman nine years into his service as the chief executive.
The appointment has seen the deputy CEO Jules Ngankam picked to head the Fund in an acting capacity effective from July 1.

The board of Pan-African non-bank financial institution African Guarantee Fund (AGF), a small and medium-sized enterprises credit facilitator, has appointed Felix Bikpo as its chairman nine years into his service as the chief executive.

Mr Bikpo, who has been the CEO since its inception, replaces Andrew Temu, who has retired. The appointment has seen the deputy CEO Jules Ngankam picked to head the Fund in an acting capacity effective from July 1.

Welcoming his chairmanship appointment, Mr Bikpo said its affirms confidence in his leadership.

“We achieved a three-time exceptional AA-rating that shows we understood the gap and created a leader in the guarantee market. I am proud of the AGF I am leaving behind especially for the coming generation,” he said.

AGF, founded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Denmark and Spanish government development agencies, provides financial institutions with guarantee products for onward lending to SMEs.

Mr Ngankam, who had worked for 15 years in financial institutions prior to joining AGF in 2013 as chief finance officer, was promoted to the deputy CEO in April 17, 2017.

He said AGF remains committed to facilitating local lenders to offer credit to SMEs especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am grateful to be part of AGF’s journey to support financial institutions and help them overcome the challenges they face in serving SMEs. AGF remains committed to continue delivering the best quality service to our partners especially now during this challenging period,” he said.