By SIMBO OLORUNFEMI and ADE ADEFEKO
As we look to the future, I see Afreximbank as a force for industrialising Africa and for regaining the dignity of Africans wherever they are. I will work to preserve this important asset. –Dr George Elombi
Like Professor Benedict Oramah from Nigeria, who joined Afreximbank in 1994 as Chief Analyst, rising through the ranks to become the President of the Bank in 2015, Dr. George Elombi, a Cameroonian lawyer, joined Afreximbank in 1996 as Legal Officer, rising through the ranks to the position of Executive Vice President in charge of Governance, Legal, and Corporate Services in 2015. Following Oramah’s two terms as President of the bank, Elombi now caps his run, succeeding him as the bank’s fourth president. The same was the case with the pioneer President of the Bank, Mr. Christopher Edordu, who led the Bank from 1993 to 2003, and Jean-Louis Ekra, who joined the Bank in 1996 as Senior Executive Vice President, and subsequently served as the Bank’s second President between 2005 and 2015.
It must have been in keeping with this tradition and a desire to consolidate on the gains of the Oramah era that the Board of Directors recommended Elombi, and the shareholders approved him as successor to Oramah. They must have felt that no one is better prepared to deliver on the desire of the shareholders, as expressed by his predecessor, to make Afreximbank a $250 billion institution in ten years, than a man who was an integral part of the Oramah era that saw the fortunes of the bank taking a huge leap forward. Callable capital increased from $450 million in 2015 to $4.5 billion in 2025, an indication of strong shareholder trust and confidence, with funding from African sources growing from 11.7% to 36.6% during his tenure. Shareholders’ funds swelled to $7.5 billion by April 2025, supported by dividend reinvestments and equity injections. Assets and guarantees rose more than eightfold, reaching $43.5 billion by April 2025, while annual revenue soared sevenfold to $3.2 billion, with net income jumping by nearly 700% to $1 billion.
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Under the leadership of Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank became one of the major drivers of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), launching initiatives such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to enable real-time local currency transactions across borders, to reduce dependence on foreign currencies, and save billions in transaction costs. Other initiatives include the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), an impact fund in support of investment in manufacturing, healthcare, and infrastructure; the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), a $2 billion investment aimed at Africa’s creative economy; the African Quality Assurance Center (AQAC) established for the harmonisation of standards across Africa’s value-added industries to help agricultural and manufactured goods from Africa meet global benchmarks; and the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja, a $750 million medical centre set up in partnership with King’s College Hospital, London. The Bank not only rolled out the Africa Trade Centres network, but it also backed several mega-infrastructure projects across Africa.
Apart from these initiatives, the pivotal role of Afreximbank during the COVID-19 pandemic in providing emergency crisis financing stands out in the Oramah era. The bank mobilised more than $2 billion for vaccine acquisition and distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic across Africa and the Caribbean, at a particularly challenging time. It also disbursed $50 billion to help African countries facing economic challenges triggered by the Russia–Ukraine conflict, commodity shocks, and supply chain disruptions, to attain stability.
Incidentally, Dr. Elombi played a critical role as Chair of the Emergency Response Committee set up to address the pandemic. He led the mobilisation efforts for the acquisition of the COVID-19 vaccine, credited for his ability to mobilise legal, diplomatic, and operational resources in emergencies. He was also central to the design of the bank’s current institutional architecture, including the creation of key subsidiaries. As someone who was in charge of the Equity Mobilisation and Investor Relations department, under which the bank raised $3.6 billion in ordinary equity capital earlier this year, there are firm indications that he has earned the trust of the critical stakeholders.
If there is anyone who is well-placed to realise this vision, it is George Elombi. He has the pedigree and hands-on institutional experience for the job at hand, to build on what Afreximbank has achieved and take it to greater heights as a force for industrialising Africa.
It is the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), however, that might be considered the cornerstone of Oramah’s transformative legacy at Afreximbank, as it not only symbolises his vision for a more integrated, trade-driven African economy, but has also served as a critical platform connecting African businesses, governments, and investors, supporting Africa’s economic integration agenda under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It has since become a flagship event, facilitating trade deals, partnerships, and regional industrialisation efforts, serving as a stepping stone towards the realisation of the bank’s mission for African countries to attain economic sovereignty.
It is instructive that the Oramah era at Afreximbank, which ends in October, is wrapping up with the fifth edition of the IATF, which has just been concluded in Algeria, with one of us participating as a speaker at one of the events. The fair had a record participation, with over 2,000 exhibitors and thousands of buyers from 48 African countries in attendance, and over $44 billion in trade and investment deals reported as having been concluded during the fair. Dr Elombi was a visible and influential figure at the Fair, promoting key initiatives of the Bank and articulating its vision to boost intra-African trade, which, according to its report, rebounded in 2024 to $220.3 billion, a 12.4% increase from 2023, an indication that there is growing confidence in regional integration and a shift towards greater diversification in trade.
A seasoned legal expert with deep institutional knowledge, there is no doubt that George Elombi brings to the job sterling credentials. With a Maîtrise en Droit from the University of Yaoundé, an LL.M., and a Ph.D. in International Commercial Arbitration from the London School of Economics, his solid background in law is a strength that he has deployed to help the bank navigate complicated legal landscapes, which is crucial for cross-border trade and dispute resolution across Africa. He also helped the bank develop a risk mitigation strategy and compliance framework to position it in conformity with global standards.
Beyond preserving and building on Oramah’s legacy, Elombi’s presidency is expected to infuse fresh momentum into the Bank as it pushes for sustained growth for the Bank and the continent in the face of emerging challenges. Some of the areas expected to receive further attention include deepening collaboration with African governments, regional economic communities (ECOWAS, EAC, SADC), and global financial institutions to scale up equity capital and optimize shareholder engagement, accelerate efforts to unlock intra-African trade, increase support for the private sector and SME Financing to help with economic diversification in many of the African countries. Also expected is a greater push for the adoption of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate cross-border trade and mitigate currency risks. These are critical drivers in the push to achieve the objective of the shareholders to make Afreximbank a $250 billion institution in ten years. If there is anyone who is well-placed to realise this vision, it is George Elombi. He has the pedigree and hands-on institutional experience for the job at hand, to build on what Afreximbank has achieved and take it to greater heights as a force for industrialising Africa.
*Olorunfemi is a Specialist on Nigeria’s Foreign Policy and Managing Editor of Africa Enterprise, while Adefeko is Director Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Olam Agri, ex-Officio NACCIMA, and Honorary Consul of Botswana in Lagos.
