The African Prosperity Network (APN) recently recognized Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), with the Financial Leadership Award at their African Prosperity Dialogue gala dinner held on January 26, 2024.
The Leadership Awards initiative seeks to honor and celebrate individuals in senior positions who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and expertise in the financial services industry across the continent.
Specifically, the Financial Leadership category celebrates those who exude sound financial management, prudent risk management, and innovative financial thinking.
Afreximbank, under the stewardship of Prof. Oramah, has made significant strides in promoting the socio-economic development of Africa and its populace.
The Bank has overseen the tremendous growth and deployment of innovative instruments to catalyze trade, industrial, and economic development in Africa.
For example, the Bank introduced crisis response products such as the Countercyclical Trade Liquidity Facility (COTRALF), the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA), and the Ukraine Crisis Adjustment Trade Financing Programme for Africa (UKAFPA) among others. Notably, the Bank disbursed over US$105 billion between 2016 and 2023.
Afreximbank is a staunch supporter of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and has put in place fundamental building blocks to advance intra-regional trade, such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the African Trade Payment Services (AfPAY), among others.
These revolutionary initiatives will allow cross-border payments and settlements in local currencies and formalize informal trade in Africa.
During the awards ceremony, Prof. Oramah expressed gratitude to H.E. President Nana Akufo-Addo of the Republic of Ghana for his unrelenting support to the Bank.
He reiterated the need for Africa to rise above the current challenges and emphasized that the continent’s struggle for freedom and prosperity will only be complete when it has gained economic and financial independence.
In addition to Prof. Oramah, other notable recipients of the Leadership Awards included H.E. President Alassane Ouatarra of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E. John Kufuor, Former President of Ghana, H.E. Dr. Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and others.
As a Pan-African multilateral financial institution, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has been deploying innovative instruments to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, and boosting economic expansion in Africa.
At the end of September 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at USD 31.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to USD 5.85 billion. The Bank disbursed over USD 100 billion between 2016 and 2023.
