George Elombi takes Afreximbank helm, vows to transform African trade

In a historic moment for African economic sovereignty, Dr. George Elombi was officially invested as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) today, delivering an impassioned address that set a bold new course for the continent’s trade future.

Speaking at the investiture ceremony, Elombi declared, “Our mission is to transform the structure of Africa’s trade—by processing and producing, we will shift from exporting raw potential to delivering finished prosperity,” emphasizing a decisive break from the long-standing pattern of exporting unprocessed commodities that has hindered economic growth.

With a vision to reshape Africa’s global trade narrative, he positioned Afreximbank as more than a financial institution, but as the engine driving industrial transformation and wealth retention across the continent.

Elombi outlined an ambitious agenda for his tenure, promising to accelerate value addition and industrialization, deepen intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and invest in strategic minerals, trade-enabling infrastructure, and digital innovation—including the exploration of a Pan-African Digital Currency.

ALSO READ: ACCESS HOLDINGS TO PAY $109.6M FOR KENYA’S NBK ACQUISITION

He highlighted Afreximbank’s pivotal role in launching transformative initiatives like the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, Transit Guarantee Scheme, Intra-African Trade Fair, Africa Trade Exchange, Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Programme, and the Diaspora Programme, asserting that without the bank’s support, these efforts would have faced significant delays or risks.

“If there is any right we Africans cannot—and must never—claim, it is the right to remain poor, for we were never poor,” Elombi proclaimed, rallying stakeholders to mobilize Global African capital to ensure the continent’s wealth fuels its own development.

As he takes the helm, Elombi reaffirms his unwavering commitment to strengthening partnerships and building an Africa that trades with itself, competes globally, and thrives on its own terms, marking a defining moment in the bank’s 30-year legacy.