Anne Juuko to lead EADB as loan disbursements jump 140%

Anne Juuko is taking charge of a regional development bank whose lending has surged, but whose next challenge is securing more money that can stay invested for years. The East African Development Bank (EADB) has named the former Stanbic Bank Uganda chief as its next director general, effective October 2, 2026, according to Daily Monitor Uganda. Her appointment follows a year in which the bank’s total loan disbursements—the money actually paid out to borrowers—rose 140%.

The bank’s Governing Council announced the appointment in Kampala while approving reforms intended to strengthen governance and support its future direction. The council is chaired by Rwanda’s finance and economic planning minister, Yusuf Murangwa. The report did not detail the individual reforms, leaving their practical scope unclear even as the council placed stronger oversight at the centre of its announcement.

A markets banker takes the helm

Juuko brings more than 20 years of experience in commercial banking, capital markets and executive leadership across East and Southern Africa. She joins from Standard Bank Group, where she served as regional head of global markets for Eastern Africa. In Uganda, she previously led Stanbic Bank Uganda, the country’s largest commercial bank by assets, through balance-sheet growth, wider use of digital services and increased lending to productive sectors.

Her earlier roles included heading corporate and investment banking at Standard Bank Namibia and senior positions at Citibank in Kenya and Uganda. Murangwa said her record across African markets and knowledge of regional economies, financial markets and development funding would support EADB’s next phase. He linked her arrival to plans to expand support for member states and strengthen the bank’s contribution to regional integration and sustainable development.

The financial starting point is strong. EADB recorded a 51% increase in profit before tax in 2025 alongside the rise in disbursements. It retained investment-grade credit ratings—assessments of a borrower’s ability to repay—of A from S&P Global and Baa3 from Moody’s, both with stable outlooks. The council praised management and staff for sustaining operations and thanked Benard Mono, senior director of finance and treasury, for guiding the bank through the interim transition.

Finding funding that can wait

The wider challenge is the region’s need for affordable, long-term funding for infrastructure, climate resilience, industrialisation and jobs. The report describes a tightening supply of global concessional finance, meaning funding offered on favourable terms, while commercial bank lending remains largely short-term. Against that backdrop, EADB is expected to help attract private investors and develop blended finance, which combines different sources of funding.

Murangwa’s message: credible development banking depends on strong governance, and the council’s resolutions are intended to improve results for member states and the region.

Accepting the appointment, Juuko said she wanted to work with regional stakeholders to build on an institution approaching its 60th year. Her priorities are to deepen its development-finance role, open access to new sources of long-term capital and build partnerships that extend its reach across East Africa. Those priorities set the next markers to watch: how EADB puts its governance reforms into practice and turns its recent lending growth into a broader, lasting funding role.