Anne Juuko takes EADB helm with long-term capital at the top of her agenda

Anne Juuko, who led Stanbic Bank Uganda through the Covid-19 pandemic, is moving to a regional lender with a different challenge: bringing in more long-term capital to support East African development. The East African Development Bank’s Governing Council has appointed her Director General, effective October 2, 2026, according to Nile Post Uganda. Her stated priorities put funding and partnerships at the centre of the bank’s next chapter.

The appointment was announced on Friday at a Governing Council meeting in Kampala. It fills the bank’s substantive leadership position after an interim period overseen by Benard Mono, its Senior Director of Finance and Treasury. The council thanked Mono for keeping the institution stable and maintaining continuity during the transition to a new permanent leader.

A wider role for development finance

Juuko joins an institution approaching its sixth decade, with a mandate to support economic development and investment across East Africa. She said she would work with regional stakeholders to strengthen that role. Her immediate agenda includes broadening development finance—funding that supports economic and social progress—securing new sources of capital available over longer periods, and building partnerships to extend the bank’s reach.

Council Chairperson Yusuf Murangwa, Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, pointed to Juuko’s experience across African markets as a reason for confidence in her appointment. He said her knowledge of regional economies, capital markets—the channels through which businesses and institutions raise money—and development financing would serve the bank in its next phase.

Murangwa said Juuko’s understanding of the region’s economies, capital markets and development financing would be invaluable to EADB’s next phase.

Juuko described the appointment as an opportunity to build on the work of the bank’s management and staff. She also pointed to the support of a governing council committed to strong governance. Her emphasis was on expanding the institution’s ability to finance development and deliver lasting benefits across the region, rather than simply taking over its existing operations.

From trading markets to regional leadership

Her career spans more than two decades in banking, capital markets and executive management. She started at Citibank Uganda in 2001, eventually leading its fixed-income, currencies and commodities business, covering debt investments, foreign exchange and raw materials. She later worked at Citibank Kenya in customer sales and derivatives marketing, involving financial contracts linked to underlying assets. In 2012, she joined Standard Bank Group as Head of Global Markets at Stanbic Bank Uganda, before moving to lead corporate and investment banking at Standard Bank Namibia six years later.

Juuko returned to Uganda as Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in March 2020. During the pandemic, she oversaw credit support for small and medium-sized businesses and financial inclusion initiatives, including Stanbic4Her. The bank’s total assets rose from about Shs6.65 trillion to Shs8.57 trillion during her tenure, according to professional-profile figures cited in the report.

In April 2024, she became Standard Bank Group’s Nairobi-based Regional Head of Global Markets for East Africa, responsible for operations across seven national markets. At EADB, the focus now shifts to how she turns her stated priorities into action: attracting long-term capital, developing partnerships and widening the regional lender’s development-financing role.