At the 2026 African Marketing Confederation Awards, known as the marketing awards, Stanbic IBTC Bank was honored as Brand of the Year. Its Together4ALimb program also captured Campaign of the Year and significant Best Cause‑Related Campaign honors. The initiative has helped 250 children living with limb loss across Nigeria since 2015 by providing prosthetics, healthcare, and education. More than ₦1 billion has been invested in the program, including ₦375 million dedicated to education trusts. Partners such as Total Health Trust and Ifean Health contribute to delivering care and virtual participation through the Steps by Stanbic IBTC app.
Other results included Airtel Malawi securing second place in Best Cause‑Related Campaign with its Nzeru Connect digital inclusion project, part of the broader marketing awards. Ethiopia’s Velocity Marketing earned third place for The Hangout networking series that showcases emerging businesses and connects industry leaders. Zuri Seasoning from Nigeria won Best Social Media Campaign for its 30 Days of Ramadan Cooking series featuring local chefs. Muse Agency received Best Use of Local Insights for the Carrefour Tunisia campaign that turned fan chants into an original song powered by artificial intelligence. Mademarketing took Most Effective Campaign for Mercury’s transition to the Mercury brand focusing on connectivity and digital infrastructure.
The awards were part of the Africa Commerce Convergence Summit, which also hosted the inaugural Mozambique Tourism Summit, highlighting the importance of marketing awards. Ethiopia was chosen as host for the 2027 ACCS, set to take place in Addis Ababa and draw around 1,200 delegates. The 2027 edition will incorporate the Federation of African Creative Economies, a new pan‑African professional body focused on creative practice. Matamwandi highlighted the opportunity to blend creative economics with marketing, ICT and supply chain management for stronger competition. Future events will spotlight digital transformation, artificial intelligence, fintech and e‑commerce while encouraging cross‑border collaboration.
Matamwandi praised the warmth and hospitality of Zambian people during the conference held at the Radisson Blu Mosi‑Oa‑Tunya resort, a celebration of marketing awards. He noted that the gathering reinforced the value of collaboration across the continent and looked forward to the 2028 summit in Rwanda. The next meeting will bring together more professionals, organizations and ideas to strengthen connections across Africa.