Aishah N Ahmad is a central banker, board-level leader and financial expert with over 27 years of experience working at the intersection of public policy and private markets. She was Deputy Governor for Financial System Stability at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from March 2018 to September 2023, overseeing prudential regulation, licensing, supervision and consumer protection in the banking and payments sector of Africa’s largest economy.
As the first female Deputy Governor in charge of financial system stability and the youngest in over four decades, Aishah was a member of the CBN Board of Directors, Monetary Policy Committee, and Financial System Stability Committee. She is credited with leading significant financial reforms, including the Banks & Other Financial Institutions Act of 2020, which strengthened the legal framework for financial services regulation in Nigeria, and the landmark bridge resolution of a failing bank that protected depositor funds and preempted a banking crisis. Under her visionary leadership of the national strategy, financial inclusion in Nigeria improved from 63% to 74% (2018–2023), marking the highest overall percentage increase to date (EFINA 2023 A2F report). She also led Nigeria to host its first international financial inclusion conference to broad acclaim.
Aishah has significant board leadership experience. As board chair, she has led four CEO transitions and several corporate strategy transformations. She is currently a board member at the Financial Alliance for Women (US) and SOS Children’s Villages International (Austria). Formerly, she chaired the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, Nigeria Commodity Exchange, Financial Institutions Training Centre, and SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria. She also served on the boards of the Islamic Financial Services Board and the International Islamic Liquidity Management.
An advocate for gender equity, Aishah championed women’s leadership at the CBN, institutionalizing Women’s Day celebrations for five consecutive years. Annually, she hosted a “100 Women Breakfast” to mentor over 600 young female professionals at the Bank. During her tenure, female CEO representation within the Nigerian banking industry reached an all-time high of 25%. As executive chairperson of WIMBIZ, Africa’s largest female-focused NGO (2015-2017), she grew its membership, financial stability, and launched the ‘Big Sister Program,’ which has mentored over 7,000 teenage girls in public secondary schools across Nigeria to date.
