…Unveils Strategic Minerals Development Programme, Eyes Pan-African Digital Currency, and Deeper AfCFTA Integration
Cairo, Egypt/
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has entered a new leadership era as Dr. George Elombi was sworn in on Saturday in Cairo, Egypt, as the Bank’s fourth President and Chairman of the Board of Directors. He succeeds Prof. Benedict Oramah, whose decade-long tenure saw historic growth in intra-African trade financing and the successful rollout of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
The solemn yet celebratory investiture ceremony, attended by over 2,000 guests, including African heads of state, ministers, top business leaders, and former Afreximbank Presidents, was presided over by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who administered the oath of office.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Elombi pledged to deepen Afreximbank’s developmental impact by driving Africa’s structural transformation away from commodity dependence toward value addition, industrialisation, and digital integration.
“Our mission is to transform the structure of Africa’s trade. To change the structure, we must process. We must produce. Unless we produce, we cannot trade,” he said.
To achieve this, Dr. Elombi announced plans to establish a Strategic Minerals Development Programme — a financing window dedicated to supporting projects that process raw minerals into semi-finished or finished goods. The initiative aims to capture more value within Africa, create high-skilled jobs, and curb the export of unprocessed natural resources.
Highlighting the importance of regional market linkages, Dr. Elombi said Afreximbank would intensify efforts to dismantle trade barriers and strengthen cross-border infrastructure. He reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), pledging new targeted interventions to accelerate its implementation.
“Afreximbank will continue to play a catalytic role in the AfCFTA by driving forward key programmes and initiatives developed over the past decade,” he said.
Dr. Elombi also unveiled plans to harness innovation and technology to drive financial integration across the continent. Among his proposals is the exploration of a Pan-African Digital Currency to facilitate seamless trade settlements.
He added that sustaining Afreximbank’s financial strength remained a priority:
“Only a strong and well-capitalised institution can make the scale of interventions required to transform Africa’s trade and development landscape.”
The new president also underscored the importance of partnerships with African and global institutions, saying, “Africa’s progress depends not only on the strength of individual institutions but also on the power of collaboration among them.”
In a pointed remark on global perceptions, Dr. Elombi warned against narratives undermining successful African multilateral institutions.
“Unlike other multilateral bodies, Afreximbank’s preferred creditor status is not granted by benevolence, but enshrined in our Establishment Treaty signed by all Member States,” he said.
Among dignitaries at the event were Mr. Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt; Cameroon’s Minister of Finance, Hon. Louis-Paul Motazé; Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Ms. Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission; and Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Established over 30 years ago, Afreximbank is Africa’s foremost trade finance institution with assets exceeding US$40.1 billion and shareholder funds of US$7.2 billion as of December 2024. The Bank, headquartered in Cairo, leads continental efforts to finance intra-African trade, industrialisation, and the AfCFTA through instruments such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support participating nations.
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