AFREXIMBANK : The End of Benedict Oramah’s Tenure Celebrated

(LVDE) – On October 25, 2025, in Cairo, Egypt, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) paid tribute to Professor Benedict Okey Oramah at the close of his tenure as President of the Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors, during a conference dedicated to celebrating his institutional legacy. On this occasion, the outgoing President recalled that from the very beginning of his mandate, he made the promotion of intra-African trade and investment the cornerstone of the Bank’s strategy, convinced that it was the only viable path toward Africa’s development and economic emancipation.

The farewell conference, attended by more than 2,000 guests, brought together Heads of State, former Heads of State, Heads of Government, representatives of institutions from across Africa and the Caribbean, leading African business executives, all former Afreximbank Presidents, the Bank’s incoming President, Board members, shareholders, current and former staff, as well as friends and associates of Professor Oramah and Afreximbank, alongside many other dignitaries.

“Our philosophy was born from the conviction that the only viable path to Africa’s development and economic emancipation lay in aggressively reversing the colonial strategy of ‘divide and rule’ and ‘divide and conquer,’ which for decades kept Africa and people of African descent in despair and distress,” Professor Oramah declared in his farewell address.

“As a result, our philosophy was grounded in the belief that the engine of Africa’s development must be fueled from within, because hundreds of years of history have shown that external interests have been mostly predatory and parasitic—except when that engine was driven from a position of strength and determination,” he explained.

Professor Oramah added that because Afreximbank fought on all fronts, “we can now point to tangible changes brought about by the Bank ; we can now identify those institutional structures and new interventions that have become formidable forces in Africa’s arsenal in its struggle for true self-determination—achievements that, ten years ago, were only dreams and aspirations.”

For his part, Dr. George Elombi, the new President of Afreximbank, described his predecessor as “one of the few in the world—the 0.8%—who combine vision and execution.” According to him, it was under Professor Oramah’s leadership that Afreximbank and its partners built a solid foundation to strengthen intra-African trade and industrial development.

“Instruments were created to dismantle the barriers that have held back Africa’s progress for nearly seven decades since independence. He faced head-on the challenges of Africa’s industrial underdevelopment, building on the work of those who came before him,” said Dr. Elombi, who added that Afreximbank is now one of the leading multilateral financial institutions driving the continent’s development efforts—particularly in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and transforming the continent’s industrial landscape. “Oramah transformed decades and centuries of political aspirations into tangible gains for all Africans,” he added.

Professor Oramah’s ten-year tenure, which began in September 2015, saw Afreximbank’s assets and guarantees increase nearly eightfold, from US$6 billion to nearly US$44 billion as of September 2025. His leadership also oversaw the introduction and implementation of large-scale products, programs, and initiatives specifically designed to tackle Africa’s trade and economic growth challenges, reinforcing Afreximbank’s position as Africa’s leading trade finance institution.

During his tenure, Afreximbank’s support played a key role in the early implementation of the AfCFTA. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), backed by a US$3 billion clearing and settlement facility, became operational in 20 countries, enabling African states to conduct cross-border trade in their local currencies.

The AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, supported by a US$1 billion Afreximbank commitment and a partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat, helps participating states adapt smoothly to the new trading regime.

The biennial Intra-African Trade Fair, introduced by Afreximbank in 2018, addresses the challenge of limited access to trade and investment information in Africa. Over four editions, it has attracted more than US$170 billion in trade and investment deals and 180,000 visitors.
Furthermore, the digital Africa Trade Gateway platform leverages technology to remove informational barriers, while African Trade Centers established across the continent provide robust platforms for disseminating information on intra-African trade and investment.

In the area of standards, the Bank’s testing and certification centers have enabled the harmonization of about 500 standards for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, agriculture, automotive, textiles, and other sectors—thus facilitating intra-African trade. The Bank continues to build new centers across Africa to ensure effective implementation of the standards it helped harmonize.

In collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat and COMESA, Afreximbank launched the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, supported by US$1 billion in guarantees, to eliminate obstacles to the movement of goods across borders.
Afreximbank also supports the development of industrial parks and special economic zones across Africa, fostering the creation of new export industries, notably through the emergence of large-scale projects such as the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Nigeria.

Equally important, the Bank’s work has rekindled socio-cultural and economic ties between Africa, CARICOM, and the African diaspora. The implementation of African Medical Centers of Excellence projects has paved the way for broader access to quality healthcare for many Africans.
Other significant achievements include Afreximbank’s intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Bank disbursed more than US$10 billion to help Africa respond independently and mobilized an additional US$2 billion to enable Africa and the Caribbean to procure COVID-19 vaccines.

Moreover, under Professor Oramah’s leadership, Afreximbank recently launched the African Trade and Distribution Company (ATDC), an institution established to address the logistical challenges of cross-border trade on the continent.
The conference dedicated to his legacy also featured testimonies and tributes from Afreximbank staff, business leaders, political figures, friends, and other personalities from various fields who had been influenced by Professor Oramah’s work.