Dr. George Elombi Takes the Helm at Afreximbank, Pledging a Deeper, Broader Impact on Africa’s Future
CAIRO, Egypt – the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) entered a new chapter on Saturday as Dr. George Elombi was sworn in as the institution’s fourth President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, succeeding Prof. Benedict Oramah, who led the Bank through one of its most transformative decades.
The ceremony, held in Cairo and attended by more than 2,000 guests, including heads of state, leading African entrepreneurs, ministers and family members, carried both the formality of succession and the emotional weight of legacy. The oath of office was administered by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, symbolizing a continuity of African leadership rooted in shared responsibility and continental ambition. As this is a moment of continuity and change.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Elombi struck a tone of both reverence and reform. He paid tribute to his predecessors while pledging to extend impact and sustain Afreximbank’s mission of building an Africa that “trades with itself and thrives on its own terms.”
Yet his message went beyond rhetoric. Dr. Elombi made clear that the continent’s dependence on commodity exports, which is a structural legacy of colonialism and global market imbalances, must end. “To change the structure of trade, we must process. We must produce” he said. “Unless we produce, we cannot trade.”
This declaration marked a philosophical shift: from simply enabling trade to actively shaping Africa’s industrial base. It signals an Afreximbank ready to leverage finance not only for trade facilitation but for economic sovereignty.
The human and cultural story behind the ceremony enveloped many observers in a notion that the event was more than an institutional milestone. It was acutely a human story of an African scholar and financier rising through the ranks to lead one of the continent’s most respected institutions.
Colleagues described Dr. Elombi, a Cameroonian by birth and a long-serving Afreximbank executive, as a bridge-builder who combines intellectual rigor with a keen sense of cultural identity. His journey mirrors that of many African professionals striving to lead global institutions on African terms. Bringing a blend of technical competence and cultural authenticity to the international stage. To his family and community, the moment carried personal pride. To Africa’s youth, it offered a model of what homegrown excellence can achieve.
The business and economic implications, just saw a strategic shift thronged into another definite direction. Over the next five to ten years, Dr. Elombi plans to steer the Bank toward sectors with the greatest potential for sustained impact on trade and wellbeing. Central to his strategy is value addition, ensuring that Africa no longer exports raw minerals and agricultural commodities only to import finished goods made from them.
Consequently, Afreximbank will create a Strategic Minerals Development Programme, providing financing from extraction through manufacturing, ensuring more value and jobs stay within African borders. The Bank also plans to establish a high-impact financing window dedicated to processing raw materials into semi-finished or finished goods.
This vision aligns closely with continental initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which seeks to expand intra-African trade by removing barriers and harmonising policies. Dr. Elombi reaffirmed the Bank’s role as a “catalyst” for the AfCFTA, pledging continued investment in cross-border infrastructure, digital trade platforms and even exploring the creation of a Pan-African Digital Currency.
Dr. Elombi’s speech also carried subtle political weight for the political and institutional Dimension. He warned against what he described as a hostile narrative from outside the continent, targeting African multilateral institutions that are African-owned and African-led. “Not because we fail, but because we are successful” he said.
His remarks underlined a growing confidence among African institutions that have often been overshadowed by Bretton Woods bodies like the IMF and World Bank. Afreximbank, unlike many peers, enjoys preferred creditor status not by external concession but through its own Establishment Treaty, signed by African governments. This is a point Dr. Elombi emphasised as evidence of Africa’s institutional maturity.
Social and Pan-African implications: beyond economics, Afreximbank’s work touches the daily lives of Africans, from small traders using digital payment systems to manufacturers seeking export financing. Dr. Elombi’s promise to promote innovation, regional integration, and financial inclusion could translate into tangible benefits for millions if implemented effectively.
Moreover, the emphasis on Pan-African collaboration resonates culturally. It echoes the spirit of unity envisioned by earlier generations of African leaders, from Nkrumah to Nyerere, but expressed in a modern financial language of trade, credit and capital.
The legacy and challenge of the transition from Prof. Oramah to Dr. Elombi represents both continuity and renewal. Under Oramah, Afreximbank became a powerhouse in African trade finance, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it provided billions in emergency liquidity. Dr. Elombi inherits a stronger, more visible institution, but also one operating in a more fragmented global order and a continent still grappling with debt, inflation and external shocks. The new President, is tasked to make Afreximbank not just a bank for Africa, but a bank of Africa, intensely rooted in its people, confident in its mission and resilient in its growth.
The investiture also featured remarks by Mr. Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, Hon. Louis-Paul Motazé, Minister of Finance of Cameroon, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Founder, Dangote Group, Ms. Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
