In an Ivorian banking market driven by increasing competition, innovation and digitalization, Korede Odjo-Bella joined the Ecobank Group in April 2020 as Regional Marketing and Communication Director and was subsequently appointed as Director of Retail Banking at Ecobank Côte D’Ivoire since September 2021.
Korede Odjo-Bella demonstrates a strong commitment to her clients and as such, believes in financial inclusion and advocates digitalization to develop innovative solutions, provide an easy access to financial services for the greatest number of people, and improve the customers’ experience.
In 2000, after working for 3 years for a B2B company specialized in customer relations and Marketing, she joined McCann Paris, the leading Communication agency in France, where she worked for 4 years on international portfolios.
In 2004, Korédé joined the ranks of the Spanish food company, Gallina Blanca, and worked on the development and launch of Jumbo products throughout more than 20 countries. She piloted the introduction of vitamin A enriched broths, the first of its kind on the continent, which has since become a case study taught at IESE Barcelona.
In 2010, Korédé joined the Canal + teams as Marketing Director for Africa where she actively participated in the development of the Canal+ brand in Africa, making it more accessible and preparing the shift to the services’ digitalization.
In 2014, she is part of Wari Group, an African FinTech start-up dedicated to financial services to individuals and helped to structure the pan-African expansion of Wari and develop the brand’s digital platform before joining the Lagardère Group in September 2015. In a context of liberalization of the audiovisual market in Côte d’Ivoire, she successfully opened its Ivorian subsidiary, launched VIBE Radio station as well as its digital platforms and the magazine Elle.ci. Gender champion, she is a member of WIB CI (Women in Business Côte d’Ivoire), WFC (Women Working For Change), and recently joined the mentoring program “75xELLEs” initiated in Benin by UNFPA and the Ministry of Welfare & Microfinance.
The career of this highly Afro optimist has led her across the African continent from Dakar to Tananarive, via Kigali and Nouakchott before settling in Abidjan several years ago. A graduate of ESCEM (France), she is fluent both in English and Spanish.