Cameroonian banker Alain Nkontchou to pocket $9.6 million as Ecobank resumes dividends

Cameroonian multimillionaire banker Alain Nkontchou is set to receive a $9.6 million payout from his stake in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the Lomé-headquartered parent company of Ecobank Group, led by CEO Jeremy Awori

This payout is part of the group’s recommended total dividend of $40 million for fiscal year 2025, reflecting the company’s robust financial performance following its last dividend of $28 million, which equated to $0.0011 per share in 2022.

Ecobank resumes dividend after 3 years

The dividend, to be paid on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, is a testament to Ecobank’s solid financial results, resuming dividends since 2022. The board of directors recommended a dividend of $0.0016 per share for the 2025 fiscal year. This dividend came more than 7 months after Nedbank exited as its largest shareholder.

Nedbank Group’s 21.2% stake in the lender was acquired last year, 2025, for R1.8 billion ($100 million). The stake, classified as a non-current asset held for sale in Nedbank’s August 2025 interim results, was offloaded to Nkontchou’s private investment firm, Bosquet Investments, marking the end of Nedbank’s 17-year partnership with Ecobank.

Before the deal, Nkontchou, the co-founder and managing partner of Enko Capital, already owned 698.7 million Ecobank shares, representing a 2.83% stake. Acquiring Nedbank’s holding added 5.25 billion shares to his name and raised his total to 5.95 billion shares of the bank.

Over the years, Nedbank’s investment in Ecobank has struggled to deliver consistent returns, weighed down by the risks of operating in volatile economies. While Nedbank has recorded R6.8 billion ($378.6 million) in associate income from its stake, it has only received R4 million ($222,700) in dividends.

Alain Nkontchou’s role and Ecobank’s record dividend
In the fiscal year 2025, the Lomé-based lender delivered a strong performance, with profit climbing to $594 million, supported by a 17% increase in net revenue to $2.45 billion, while earnings per share climbed 23% to $0.017. Growth was driven by balanced expansion across its corporate and investment banking (CIB) and consumer and commercial banking (CCB) divisions, alongside rising digital transactions, which surged 30% to $133 billion.

This performance prompted its board to propose a dividend of $0.0016 per share after three years without paying a dividend.

Nkontchou, who holds 24.03% stake in Ecobank, stands to receive $9.61 million, solidifying his position as the lender’s largest shareholder and a prominent dividend earner on the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) regional exchange.