Abuja, Nigeria — When Professor Benedict Oramah joined the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in 1994 as a young chief analyst, few could have foreseen that he would devote more than three decades to the institution–culminating in a transformative presidency that redefined its mission and expanded its impact across the continent.
On June 28, during Afreximbank’s 32nd Annual Meetings held in Abuja, Nigeria, shareholders appointed Dr. George Elombi as the Bank’s next President, ahead of Oramah’s scheduled departure in September–signalling the approaching conclusion of a consequential 10-year tenure as President and Chairman of the Board.
Elombi, a Cameroonian, will become the fourth individual to lead the Bank since its establishment in 1993. In accordance with Afreximbank’s charter, the presidency is limited to two five-year terms. Professor Oramah, a Nigerian economist, assumed the role in 2015, succeeding Ivorian Jean-Louis Ekra (2005-2015) and Nigeria’s Christopher Edordu (1993-2003).
Though reserved in demeanour and professorial in tone, Oramah presided over one of the boldest periods in the Bank’s history. What began as a tightly defined mandate to facilitate trade finance evolved–under his stewardship–into a far-reaching agenda that touched nearly every corner of the continent’s economic development. From industrialisation and logistics to health infrastructure, creative industries, and support for the African Continental Free Trade Area, Afreximbank expanded its reach and redefined its role.
This evolution unfolded against the backdrop of an increasingly complex global environment–marked by geopolitical tensions, high borrowing costs, concerns over debt sustainability, and climate-related shocks.
Yet, despite these headwinds, Afreximbank under Oramah emerged as a leading force in African trade and development finance.
Income surge more than 10 times
The numbers tell the story. Between 2015 and 2024, the Bank’s operating income rose from US$231.4 million to an impressive US$3.3 billion–a more than 13-fold increase. This growth mirrored a surge in operational scale, higher transaction volumes, and a diversification of revenue streams beyond traditional trade finance.
Profitability kept pace. Net income climbed from US$125.3 million to US$973.5 million over the same period–representing nearly an eightfold increase.
Afreximbank’s balance sheet expanded in tandem with its ambitions. Total assets grew from US$7.13 billion in 2015 to US$40.1 billion in 2024. Net loans and advances increased nearly fivefold, from US$6.06 billion to US$29.0 billion, underscoring the Bank’s deepening role in financing trade, infrastructure, and growth-enabling sectors across Africa.
Equally notable were gains in financial discipline and risk management. The cost-to-income ratio fell to 18% in 2024, indicating a lean and efficient operation. A liquidity ratio of 13% and a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of just 2.33% reflected strong risk controls. Back in 2015, loan impairment charges stood at US$63.4 million, highlighting the substantial strides made in asset quality and balance sheet resilience.
The Bank is poised to expand its role on the continent, having evolved from its roots as a trade facilitator into one of the most reliable underwriters of Africa’s ambitions to boost industrialisation, local value addition, and intra-continental trade.
Bank’s new initiatives
In response to the longstanding equity financing gap on the continent–and the need to channel investment into growth-enabling industries–the Bank launched the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) in 2021. The Fund is mandated to provide patient equity capital to businesses with strong potential for growth and scale.
FEDA focuses on strategic sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, agro-processing, financial services, and trade infrastructure. It also supports investments in technology platforms and digital services. As of the first quarter of this year, the Bank had deployed approximately US$579 million through FEDA, with US$565.3 million invested in 2024 alone–supporting a wide range of ventures driving growth and job creation across the continent.
As one of the most vocal advocates for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and a strategic implementation partner, Oramah has led the Bank in becoming one of the most fervent backers of the trade pact. A suite of support instruments has been rolled out to ease trade across the continent’s many borders.
Among these is the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), developed in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat. PAPSS enables instant, real-time payments in local currencies, addressing one of the core challenges faced by cross-border traders. With its footprint expanding across Africa, PAPSS is also expected to launch in the Caribbean–further strengthening trade links between the two regions. PAPSS has since onboarded about 160 commercial Banks in 16 countries, complemented with a new PAPSS Credit and Debit Cards in partnership with Mercury and Discover, enabling holders to spend their national currencies in the countries where PAPSS is enabled.
Additional support for AfCFTA implementation has come through the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, which provides financial assistance to African countries managing potential revenue losses from tariff removals, and to private sector actors aiming to enhance their competitiveness. Furthermore, the Bank’s Transit Guarantee Scheme–implemented in partnership with regional economic communities and customs authorities–facilitates the seamless movement of goods across borders by offering financial guarantees. This significantly reduces delays and logistical costs, empowering African businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to trade more efficiently across multiple jurisdictions.
The Bank is also implementing its Automotive Strategy, which supports the development of a viable automotive value chain across Africa. This includes support for component manufacturing, assembly plants, and supply chain development–laying the groundwork for Africa to become a competitive player in the global automotive market.
Still in pursuit of its mission and mandate to boost trade, the Bank launched AfrexInsure, a wholly owned subsidiary that provides specialty insurance solutions tailored for trade and trade-related investments across Africa. Launched during the 2023 AGM in Accra, Ghana, AfrexInsure is designed to cover the unique risks associated with trade and investments on the continent, benefiting from its parent company’s deep understanding of Africa. Since its launch, AfrexInsure has proven instrumental in providing insurance coverage for significant projects, including facilitating all-risk construction insurance for the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Expanded Afreximbank to the Caribbean
Among the defining tenets of Oramah’s tenure has been his outreach to the Caribbean, aimed at leveraging the historical and cultural links between the two regions into a grand global African Sixth Region initiative. This initiative seeks to pursue common goals and deliver shared prosperity–a mission brought into sharp relief during the pandemic when the two regions collaborated successfully on a vaccine procurement programme.
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Afreximbank has since expanded its presence in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region, opening an office in Barbados and approving a $1.5 billion funding facility for members that have acceded to the Bank’s partnership agreement.
This partnership will be showcased once again when the Bank, in partnership with the Government of Grenada, hosts the fourth AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) in St. George’s, Grenada, from July 28-29, 2025. The 2025 edition will offer businesses an opportunity to unlock new trade and investment avenues, as trade between the regions is projected to rise to $1.8 billion by 2028.
With an estimated 1,000 delegates expected to attend–including heads of state, government officials, private sector leaders, and investors from Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond–ACTIF 2025 will focus on minerals, processed foods, transportation, and other high-potential sectors for trade and investment.
With trade between the two regions accounting for less than 1% of their combined total exports, ACTIF’s success will be a welcome boost to both regions. It will also provide fresh momentum to Afreximbank’s ambitions–not only to promote, finance, and facilitate intra- and extra-African trade, but to act as a catalyst for economic transformation across Africa and the Caribbean.
Speaking to hundreds of participants at the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meeting at the Transcorp Hilton hotel–where his journey with the Bank first began–Oramah expressed his gratitude to all those who supported him in meeting the expectations of both the continent and the Bank’s shareholders.
He added: “I am proud that my three daughters accommodated my absences with grace. My wife, my Rock of Gibraltar, was the tree that made the forest in the past 10 years. I am pleased that I can now say to all of them that they can now have their father and husband back.”