Central Bank of Kenya Governor, Dr Kamau Thugge has clinched the prestigious Central Bank Governor of the Year Award, awarded by the African Banker Magazine.
Dr. Thugge received the award on Tuesday, May 28, during the African Bankers Awards Event in Nairobi, held on the sidelines of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank.
The African Banker Magazine, in its commendation, emphasized the numerous challenges faced by central bank governors globally over the past year.
The magazine highlighted Governor Thugge’s role in stabilizing markets in the country and the resilience of the Kenyan Shilling demonstrated in its recent performance against other currencies, including the Dollar.
“Despite the challenges, during your tenure in office, you have successfully stabilized markets and instilled confidence in the Kenyan economy. The markets have responded by showing their faith and support for the Kenyan shilling, and the banking sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience, positioning itself as a true regional leader,” the Awards Committee stated.
It added, “In granting you this accolade, the Committee recognized your recent achievements as Central Bank Governor and recognized the strategic role the Central Bank is playing to address market failures and to help put the economy on the right footing to stimulate growth.”
Blackrock Investment in NSE
In early March this year, Dr Thugge announced that Blackrock, one of the world’s leading asset managers, had invested in equities on the NSE to boost its performance.
The total capitalization at the NSE had dropped to a record low of Kes.1.3 trillion, the lowest in eleven years.
However, recent recoveries of the Kenyan Shilling against the United States dollar have restored investor confidence in the Kenyan market, with CBK Governor Kamau Thugee citing it as one of the factors that attracted BlackRock.
According to Thugge, the recent gains registered in the stock exchange market can be attributed to the entry of the giant asset management company.
The CBK Governor, addressing bankers at the event, stated that BlackRock had chosen Kenya as one of its investment destinations after staying away from Africa’s markets for close to five years.
“The other day I met BlackRock Asset managers. They came to my office and wanted to know how the economy was doing and said they had kept away from Africa for the last four years but now they had identified 10 countries globally where they think they can start investing.”
He continued, “Blackrock actually made an investment into the equities and if you are keen and have been looking at what is happening in the stock market, you can actually see it has been going up,” Thugge said as quoted by The Business Daily.
While accepting the award, Thugge stated, “This recognition is an affirmation of Kenya’s sound macroeconomic policies. To this end, I must recognize His Excellency the President, Dr. William Samoei Ruto, who has provided overall leadership.”
