Meet Joana Mensah; First Female Acting MD for Ecobank Ghana PLC

Joana Mensah is the first female to be appointed Acting Managing Director for Ecobank Ghana PLC.

Until her appointment on August 15, 2023, she assumed the role of Country Chief Risk Officer in 2019 at Ecobank Ghana, where she oversaw Enterprise-Wide Risk functions across the bank. Her responsibilities encompassed direct supervision of credit risk, market risk, operational risk, and ESG matters. She also collaborated with the Management Risk Committee to address other risk-related areas.  

Joana holds an MBA in Finance and a BSc. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Before her recent appointment, Joana had already gained a reputation for her outstanding contributions and achievements in the banking sector.

She started her career at Ecobank Ghana as a Financial Analyst in 1993 in the Corporate Banking Department. She later took on the role of Relationship Manager, overseeing the SME Portfolio, before being appointed as the Head of Commercial Banking in 1999. In becoming the first female Acting Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana PLC, Joana Mensah succeeds Mr. Daniel Sackey, who served the bank for eight years.

In 2005, she assumed the position of Country Risk Manager and concurrently held the role of Regional Risk Manager for the West African Monetary Zone, now recognized as the AWA Region.

Due to her extensive credit expertise and ability to exercise sound credit judgment, Joana Mensah was appointed as a Senior Credit Officer by Ecobank Transnational Inc. In this capacity, she held the responsibility of approving significant credit exposures and high-risk exposures specifically for the AWA Region.  Her role as a Country Risk Manager and Regional Risk Manager for the AWA Region demonstrates her ability to handle complex financial challenges and make sound credit decisions.

Serving on the boards of various Ecobank subsidiaries, she currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ecobank Gambia and has previously held positions on the Boards of Ecobank Sierra Leone and the Ecobank Ghana Venture Fund within the Ecobank Group.

Joana Mensah possesses a background in SME development, Corporate Banking, Strategic Planning, and Risk Management.

The accomplishment of Joana Mensah positions Ecobank Ghana PLC as a pioneer in this regard.