After reappointment, Afreximbank president vows to create integrated African market
The President of the African Export-Import Bank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, has said the ultimate goal under his second term of office is the realisation of Africa’s strategic ambition to create an integrated market.
Oramah disclosed this in his acceptance statement after shareholders of the bank voted and re-appointed him as president of the pan-African multilateral financial institution for a second five-year term.
The decision was announced on Sunday in Cairo following Afreximbank’s 27th Annual General Meeting of shareholders which was held by circulation of resolutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, according to a statement.
“We want an Africa where the foundations of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement are laid expeditiously so that the 84,000 kilometres of borders that have divided us for ages can begin to come down,” Oramah said.
He said the AfCFTA would “drive the industrialisation of Africa, support the emergence of regional value chains, turn Africa’s creative and cultural assets into engines of growth, grow jobs for the continent’s youth, convey respect to Africans wherever they may be and better prepare the continent to compete more effectively in the global markets.”
Oramah said between 2015 and 2019, Afreximbank disbursed more than $30 billion in support of African trade with over $15 billion channeled towards the financing and promotion of intra-African trade.
“We will aim to double intra-African trade financing so that by the end of my term, it will constitute no less than 40 percent of the bank’s total assets, with aggregate disbursements, on a revolving basis, over the 5 years exceeding $30 billion,” he added.
