The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has announced the appointment of Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Ghana’s Minister of Finance, as the new Chairman of its Board of Governors.
According to a statement from the Bank, the appointment was confirmed during the Bank’s 23rd Ordinary Session held on April 14, 2025, in Banjul, The Gambia.
Dr. Forson takes over from Seedy Keita, The Gambia’s Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, who previously held the role.
What Forson brings to the Bank
President and Chairman of EBID’s Board of Directors, Dr. George Donkor, expressed optimism about the new chairman’s leadership.
He highlighted Dr. Forson’s extensive expertise in macroeconomics, fiscal and tax policy administration, and finance.
- Forson, a chartered accountant and experienced tax practitioner, brings over two decades of experience across both public and private sectors to his new role.
- Speaking on behalf of Dr. Forson, Ghana’s Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Ampem assured the Board of the new Chairman’s dedication to advancing the bank’s mission.
- He said Forson is committed to accelerating resource mobilisation, boosting capital recovery, and reinforcing EBID’s efforts to onboard non-regional members.
Ampem emphasized that under Forson’s leadership, EBID would focus on consolidating its position as the leading development finance institution in West Africa, driving economic growth across the sub-region.
What you should know
The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has metamorphosed into a fully-fledged development finance institution (DFI) over the years.
- As a major regional DFI, the Bank, for over forty years, has focused on helping Member States to meet infrastructural, social and institutional challenges in the ECOWAS sub-region, through financing projects under its private and public sector windows.
- With each intervention, we have always endeavoured to achieve our vision of being “an effective instrument for poverty alleviation, wealth creation and job promotion for the well-being of the people of the sub-region”.
- After operating as the Community’s DFI for well over forty years, the Bank has accumulated the requisite knowledge and expertise to postulate evidence-based solutions to the challenges that beset Member States.
Operating in some of the most fragile communities in the world, EBID has had to deal with very serious socioeconomic challenges.
Dr. Forson’s appointment is seen as a strategic move to strengthen the bank’s influence in the region, particularly at a time when West African economies are seeking innovative financing and partnerships to drive sustainable growth.
