Afreximbank: The New President Is George Elombi
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) swore in Dr. George Elombi on Saturday in Cairo, Egypt, as the fourth Chairman of the Bank's Board of Directors, replacing Prof. Benedict Oramah as head of the African Multilateral Financial Institution.
Formalized with an oath administered by Mr. Wale Edun, Chairman of the Bank's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and Nigeria's Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, the investiture ceremony was witnessed by over 2.000 guests.
Present were Heads of State and former Heads of State, government leaders and representatives from across Africa and the Caribbean, leading African business leaders, all former Presidents of Afreximbank, members of the Bank's Board of Directors, shareholders, current and former employees, friends and family of Dr. Elombi and a host of other dignitaries.
In his inauguration speech, Dr. Elombi announced his unwavering commitment to building on the Bank's legacy, deepening its impact, strengthening partnerships, and continuing its mission of building an Africa that trades with itself and thrives on its own terms.
He noted that the structure of global trade is unfavorable for Africa and therefore must change, as it is overly dependent on the export of raw materials, stating that:
“Our mission is, therefore, to transform the structure of this trade.”
“To change the structure, we must process. We must produce.”
“Unless we produce, we cannot market”.
Production and Value
President Elombi announced that over the next five to ten years, he would prioritize sectors that he believes will have the most significant and sustainable impact on Africa's trade and well-being, including promoting and accelerating value addition and strategic mineral processing to reduce raw material exports.
“Afreximbank will therefore create a new, high-impact financing window specifically for projects that process raw minerals into semi-finished or finished products.”
“We will establish a Strategic Minerals Development Program to finance complete value chains.”
“From extraction and refining to the manufacture of finished components, capturing much more value here on our continent and creating highly skilled jobs for our people”.
Dr. Elombi stated, adding that Afreximbank would prioritize deepening intra-African trade and regional integration, as the success of its value addition agenda would ultimately depend on its ability to secure markets for the goods it produces.
“We will intensify efforts to eliminate trade barriers, strengthen cross-border infrastructure and promote the seamless movement of goods, services, people and capital across our continent.”, concluded Dr. George Elombi.
Afreximbank will therefore continue to play a catalytic role in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, leveraging key programs and initiatives developed over the past decade and introducing new targeted interventions, where necessary, to accelerate progress.
Innovation and Partnerships
Other priorities outlined by Dr. Elombi include catalyzing and building critical infrastructure that facilitates trade; leveraging innovation and digital technology, including exploring the creation of a pan-African digital currency, strengthening financial integration and innovation across the continent; and mobilizing global African capital.
The Bank will also prioritize its financial strength, recognizing that only a strong and well-capitalized institution can carry out the necessary interventions to transform Africa's trade and development landscape.
Priority will also be given to establishing strategic and innovative partnerships, as partnerships with relevant development institutions are fundamental to the Bank's mission of promoting Africa's trade and economic transformation.
“We recognize that Africa’s progress depends not only on the strength of individual institutions, but also on the power of collaboration among them”, said Dr. Elombi.
President Elombi addressed the increasingly hostile narrative directed at African-owned and controlled African multilateral institutions.
“This narrative emerges not because we failed or are seen as another African failure, but because we are successful.”.
He added that, unlike other multilateral institutions, Afreximbank's preferred creditor status was not granted out of the goodwill or benevolence of governments, but enshrined in the Bank's Establishment Treaty, signed by all Member States.
The inauguration also included interventions by Mr. Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, His Excellency Louis-Paul Motazé, Minister of Finance of Cameroon, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Founder of the Dangote Group, His Excellency Selma Malika Haddadi, Vice-Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and His Excellency Dr. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
About Afreximbank
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a pan-African multilateral financial institution with a mandate to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade.
For over 30 years, the Bank has used innovative structures to offer financing solutions that support the transformation of the African trade structure, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thus driving economic expansion in Africa.
A staunch supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that has been adopted by the African Union (AU) as a payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA.
In collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank established a $10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries that effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank's total assets and contingencies amounted to over $40,1 billion, and its shareholders' funds amounted to $7,2 billion.
Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody's (Baa2), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-).
Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, "the Group"). The headquarters are in Cairo, Egypt.
Conclusion
Dr. George Elombi's inauguration ceremony marks a turning point for Afreximbank and for the African continent itself. His vision is based on the conviction that Africa must stop being merely a supplier of raw materials and become a producer and transformer of its own future.
Under his leadership, the Bank aims to strengthen Africa's role in global trade, consolidate its economic sovereignty, and transform structural challenges into opportunities for sustainable development. Dr. Elombi takes office at a time when the African economy is facing major transitions—from industrialization and regional integration to the digital and financial revolution.
The outlined strategy points to a new phase of continental confidence, sustained by production, innovation and partnerships between Africans, without depending on external goodwill.
With over three decades of existence and a growing impact on intra-African trade, Afreximbank has established itself as one of the pillars of the continent's new economic architecture, a symbol of an African financial renaissance guided by pragmatism, cooperation and strategic vision.
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Picture: © 2025 Afreximbank
