Prof. Benedict Oramah

Professor Benedict Oramah, a renowned Nigerian economist, who was appointed President and  Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export–Import Bank (“Afreximbank” or the “Bank”)  in 2015 after serving with distinction in other leadership positions at the Bank since 1994.  Afreximbank, a leading African multilateral finance institution, has made impressive strides under  Prof. Oramah’s leadership growing its assets by six- fold from about US$6 billion at the end of 

September 2015, when he assumed office, to US$37.3 billion by December 2023. The Bank has  also diversified its sources of income while achieving impressive Global Credit Ratings and  performance metrics.  

Despite global economic headwinds, under President Oramah’s leadership, Afreximbank achieved very strong year-on-year growth in earnings, profits and dividends pay-out while  sustaining its policy relevance across Africa. 

Prof. Oramah consistently keeps a laser focus on the Bank’s mission to advance regional  integration and industrialization across Africa. Under his leadership, Afreximbank has become a  prime facilitator of the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and other  continental priorities.  

Prof. Oramah, an agricultural economist and author, holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from  Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He is a recipient of numerous national honors  including the high Nigerian national honor of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in  2022 by the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; the Commander of the Order of the  Niger (CON) by the Nigerian government, the “Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Valeur” (Knight of the  Order of Valor) by the Cameroonian government, the Officer of the Congolese Order of Merit by  the Republic of Congo and The Order of Friendship by the Russian government. 

Prof. Oramah has also received many awards and recognitions, namely the 2023 Business  Leader of the Year by All Africa Business Leaders Awards; the 2022 Margaret Herz Demant  African Art Award by the Detroit Institute of Arts; the 2017 and 2022 African Banker of the Year by the African Bankers’ Magazine. He has been listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by the New Africa Magazine and Jeune Afrique for multiple years since 2017. He was recognized as the Person of the Year 2023 by Forbes Africa and awarded the 2024 Financial Leadership  Award by the Africa Prosperity Network. 

In addition to being the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Prof. Oramah serves  on the board of several organizations. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fund  for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the Chairman of the Management Board of Directors of  the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the Chairman of the Executive  Committee of the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB), the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of  the African Union Covid-19 Response Fund and serves on the Consultative Board on the World  Cocoa Economy of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). He is also a member of the  Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) Advisory Council, an Honorary Advisor of the Abia Global  Economic Advisory Council, a member of the Practitioners Advisory Board of the Institute for  Trade and Innovation (IfTI) at Offenburg University, Germany, a Board member of the Coalition  for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) and a member of the Emerging Markets Advisory Council of the  Institute of International Finance (IIF-EMAC).  

Prof. Oramah is happily married and blessed with three daughters.