The shareholders of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have voted and re-appointed Prof. Benedict Oramah as President of the Pan-African multilateral financial institution for a second 5-year term.
The decision was announced in Cairo, following Afreximbank’s 27th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders which was held by the circulation of resolutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
This was disclosed in a press statement released by the bank on Sunday, June 14, 2020.
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In his acceptance statement released shortly thereafter, the re-appointed President told shareholders that the Bank’s ultimate goal under his second term in office was the realization of Africa’s strategic ambition to create an integrated market.
According to him, “We want an Africa where the foundations of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) are laid expeditiously so that the 84,000 kilometres of borders that have divided us for ages can begin to come down. AfCFTA would drive the industrialization 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.”
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Prof. Oramah highlighted that between 2015 and 2019, Afreximbank disbursed more than US$30 billion in support of African trade, with over US$15 billion channelled towards the financing and promotion of intra-African trade.
A resolution proposing the re-election of Mr. Stefan-Luis Francois Nalletam by as a director representing Class A Shareholders, and Mr. Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing as a director representing Class B Shareholders was also approved by the meeting.
The shareholders also approved the 2019 audited accounts as well as the proposal to raise an additional $500 million in equity within Afreximbank’s current strategic plan called Impact 2021 Africa transformed.
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The approval to raise additional equity was in recognition that an amount of US$1 billion, earlier authorized to be mobilized, had almost been fully raised.
Oramah, while assuring the bank’s shareholders said, “I make a commitment that with your support, the bank will remain well capitalized throughout my term of office and beyond. We will continue our efforts to diversify sources of equity to include the markets while ensuring that the Bank’s development focus remains unchanged.”