Afreximbank shareholders appoint Cameroonian as next president

Shareholders of the African Export-Import Bank have appointed Dr. George Elombi as the next President and Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Abuja, Nigeria | ISAAC KHISA | Elombi, a Cameroonian national and long-serving executive at the Bank, will take over from Professor Benedict Oramah, who steps down in September 2025 after a decade at the helm.

The announcement was made during the Bank’s 32nd Annual Meetings, which concluded in Abuja, Nigeria, on Saturday. Elombi becomes the fourth person to lead Afreximbank since its establishment in 1993.

“I have worked alongside remarkable colleagues and extraordinary leaders to help shape this institution’s vision, its mandate, as well as its growth,” Elombi said in an acceptance speech. “As we look to the future, I see Afreximbank as a force for industrialising Africa and for re-gaining the dignity of Africans wherever they are.”

Elombi pledged to advance the shareholders’ ambition of transforming Afreximbank into a $250 billion institution over the next decade.

Afreximbank said Elombi’s appointment followed a global search process initiated in January, which included a public call for applications and interviews conducted by an international executive search firm. Final candidates were shortlisted and presented to the Board of Directors, which recommended Elombi to the General Meeting of Shareholders for approval.

Elombi joined Afreximbank in 1996 as a Legal Officer and steadily rose through the ranks to become Executive Vice President in charge of Governance, Legal and Corporate Services. His previous roles include Director and Executive Secretary, Chief Legal Officer, and Senior Legal Officer.

He also chaired the Bank’s Emergency Response Committee during the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing the mobilisation of over $2 billion to support vaccine acquisition and deployment across African and Caribbean countries.

Under his leadership, the Bank’s Equity Mobilisation and Investor Relations department raised $3.6 billion in ordinary equity as of April 2025.

Prior to joining Afreximbank, Elombi taught law at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. He holds a Ph.D. in commercial arbitration and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics, University of London, and a Maitrise-en-Droit from the University of Yaoundé.

Under the Afreximbank charter, the President is appointed by shareholders upon the recommendation of the Board for a five-year term, renewable once.