From Victor Osula, Abuja
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the appointment of Dr. George Elombi as its next President and Chairman of the Board of Directors. The decision was ratified during the Bank’s 32nd Annual General Meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria.
Dr. Elombi, a Cameroonian national and long-serving executive of the institution, will formally assume office in September 2025.
He becomes the fourth President of Afreximbank since its establishment in 1993 and will succeed Professor Benedict Oramah, who has led the Bank since 2015.
Afreximbank disclosed that the appointment followed a global executive search process initiated in January 2025, conducted by an independent firm and concluded with the General Meeting of Shareholders approving the recommendation of the Board of Directors, in line with the Bank’s governance framework.
Elombi, who joined Afreximbank in 1996 as a Legal Officer, has held several strategic roles over nearly three decades, most recently serving as Executive Vice President in charge of Governance, Legal, and Corporate Services.
His leadership has been instrumental in advancing key institutional reforms, crisis response mechanisms, and legal frameworks across Africa and the Caribbean.
In his acceptance remarks, Dr. Elombi expressed gratitude for the confidence reposed in him and reaffirmed his commitment to the Bank’s development mandate.
“I see Afreximbank as a force for industrialising Africa and for regaining the dignity of Africans wherever they are,” he said.
He while pledging to pursue an ambitious growth trajectory that targets transforming the institution into a US$250 billion financial powerhouse over the next decade.
Under his stewardship, Afreximbank has implemented several strategic interventions, including the mobilisation of over US$2 billion to support COVID-19 vaccine access across Africa and the Caribbean.
By April 2025, the Bank had also raised US$3.6 billion in equity capital to support its expansion strategy.
Elombi’s academic background includes a Maitrise-en-Droit from the University of Yaoundé, a Master of Laws, and a Ph.D. in commercial arbitration from the London School of Economics. Prior to joining Afreximbank, he was a law lecturer at the University of Hull, United Kingdom.
His appointment is for an initial five-year term, renewable once, in accordance with Afreximbank’s charter.
Dr. Elombi is expected to bring continuity and renewed strategic focus as the Bank positions itself to deepen intra-African trade, support industrialisation, and strengthen its global partnerships in the evolving economic landscape
