Afreximbank’s story is inseparable from his own, for the two are one and the same. For Benedict Oramah, it is “one of defiance in the face of doubt, of building an institution in the face of difficulties, and of unshakeable faith in Africa’s potential”. After ten years as President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Oramah is handing over the reins to his successor Georges Elombi, with the aim of driving forward the drive for Africa’s economic and financial sovereignty.
His vision is matched only by his determination to change the narrative about Africa. Under his leadership, Afreximbank has evolved into a group comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management arm, AfrexInsure. The group also includes several subsidiaries and strategic initiatives, such as MANSA, an archiving platform for customer due diligence on African entities; the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS); Creative African Nexus (CANEX); the African Medical Center of Excellence (AMCE); the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF); and the African Quality Assurance Center (AQAC). During Benedict Oramah’s tenure, the Bank’s balance sheet assets have grown from $5 billion in 2015 to $37 billion in 2023.
“The continent is steadily reversing the course of de-industrialization. This means that traditional finance structures, which are heavily focused on commodity finance, would require a rethink. With the rise of manufacturing giants in Africa, opportunities for the emergence of domestic and regional value chains, as well as the growth of small and medium size enterprises are beginning to emerge.”
Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank – Nigeria
Mr. Oramah began his professional career at the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) in 1992 as Assistant Manager. In March 1994, he joined the African Export-Import Bank as one of its first employees. In 2004, he was appointed Director of the Business Planning and Development Department. In 2008, he made a decisive career move, becoming Executive Vice-President of Business Development and Corporate Banking. Then came the coronation. On July 13, 2015, he succeeded Jean-Louis Ekra as Afreximbank’s third President. His leadership is renewed for a second five-year term in 2020.
“I think that over the last few great years, people like Professor Oramah have succeeded in making and building what Afreximbank is today, going through difficult times of crisis where Africa has had to invent itself, has had to be agile thanks to him and other Afreximbankeurs working under his leadership and this resilience must continue.”
Idrissa Diop, Compliance director, Afreximbank – Senegal
Boosting intra-African trade has been his leitmotif, and he has pursued a strategy of generating significant financing for local industrialization, with the aim of increasing the value of products and strengthening processing capacities in Africa.
“The good, the bad, the difficult, the painful, we’ve been through it all together and so this institution is here with a staff, with a culture and as I say with stakeholders who are very, very attached to Afrexim’s mission and so what I see on the magnificent edifice that President Oramah has left us as President Ekra did before him and so on. Here we are in continuity and we are going to complete the mission.”
Marlène Ngoyi, CEO of FEDA – DR Congo
In 2021, two years after the first confinements that brought African economies to a standstill, Benedict Oramah was in fact already in the “coup d’après”, that of economic integration with the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf), of which Afreximbank is a pillar. In particular, the pan-African bank has been mandated by the African Union (AU) to set up a pan-African payment and settlement system, known as PAPSS, “designed in particular to facilitate cross-border payments in the various local currencies concerned”. Between 2015 and 2021, more than $35 billion in loans will have been granted to African trade, with intra-African trade increasing significantly from 3% to almost a third of Afreximbank’s total loan portfolio.
“Professor Orama’s legacy has been outstanding and a very, very important part of Africa’s history in economic integration. And he played that part. I don’t think it’s, it’s hyperbolic to say that he played a very important part in in the process of economic integration of our continent. Over the last ten years, we’ve seen increased volumes of investment in industrial development and trade, supporting infrastructure building of course, on the 20 years before that. And so I think his legacy speaks for itself. And I personally am very, very grateful as an African, I’m very grateful as an African for his public service to to our continent and his dedication to this big vision that all of us share is for the next leadership.”
Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA – South Africa
“If I can say so. All what I legacy is a legacy that seeks to transform Africa.An Africa that is in control of its resources and is in control of its future, is in control of his destiny.It is a legacy that speaks to the economic to full economic emancipation of the continent.”
Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice-President of Afreximbank – Nigeria
Starting in 2018, the bank has initiated the first Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF). The aim is to raise awareness of business opportunities on the continent and elsewhere in the world. A winning bet: after a first edition held in December 2018 in Cairo (Egypt), headquarters of Afreximbank, the second fair, organized in Durban (South Africa) in November 2021, will have attracted over 32,000 participants (physical and virtual) from 128 countries, for a cumulative amount of transactions concluded in excess of 42 billion dollars.
“His passion for the continent, his drive and energy are contagious. Usually, when some of us come to the end of our mandate, we tend to slow down. We tend to slow down. He’s made the choice to forge ahead, working harder than he ever has. And we wonder what’s going on here. That’s the kind of person he is, I think, if you understand him. But I think for him it was, look, I’ve got a few months left, I want to make sure I’ve given everything I’ve got, I want to need to sit on my first year and not say everything. I would have liked to have done something.”
Yemi Kale, Group chief Economist, Afreximbank – Nigeria
Pr Oramah’s story is also that of the Caribbean, a region which, disconnected from its roots by colonization, can today rebuild itself by exchanging with Africa thanks to the African Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF), whose 2025 edition is scheduled to take place in St. George’s, Grenada, from July 28 to 29 under the theme: “Resilience and transformation: strengthening economic cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean in an era of global uncertainty”.
“We now hope to see a situation where Nigeria, Ghana, we have bilateral agreement with Barbados.We want to see where we abolish the need for, for instance, visa entry requirements between Africa and the Caribbean countries. And these are going to be preludes to us now reconnecting fully between ourselves. We want to station where we bring to a fall, the endemic problem of connectivity.”
Okechukwu Ihejirika, Afreximbank’s Regional Chief Operating Officer, Caribbean Office – Nigeria
“We planted the seed that would grow into a platform for a rapprochement with the form we most needed as people at the time. Today, we celebrate the birth of a similar seed that we planted here some 41 months ago. One of our decisive steps towards righting the wrongs of colonialism. These enable African and Caribbean companies to see, as we should also know, that Trade Centers across Africa and the Caribbean are necessary”.
Benedict Oramah, Président of Afreximban – Nigeria
Since 1994, Benedict Oramah has been advocating a structured finance approach capable of bypassing the uncertainties of traditional markets, by transferring risks to those who can absorb them. This approach, developed in his book “Foundations and Evolution of Structured Trade Finance”, has triggered a major transformation: in the space of three decades, South-South trade has risen from 23% to 68% of African trade. There’s no doubt that Benedict Oramah’s unshakeable faith in Africa’s potential will continue to drive his commitment to the continent’s development, after Afreximbank.
