Nairobi, May 29 -- Co-operative Bank of Kenya's Esther Kariuki has been named the African Banker of the Year for her role in advancing agriculture as a key sector for the listed lender.

Ms Kariuki, who is the head of agriculture business at the Co-op Bank, is the second woman to win the coveted prize which has mostly been won by chief executives of banks.

She was named the African Banker of the Year 2023 at the 58th Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank that was held in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. The awards committee, in a statement, said Ms Kariuki is a leader and role model.

"She was also responsible for considerably increasing lending to the agricultural sector and oversaw the roll-out of the platform Co-op Bank Soko, a digi...