In what is seen as significant leadership transition for the Pan-African financial institution as it seeks to expand its mandate and deepen its footprint across the continent, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Saturday, 29 June, 2025 appointed George Elombi as its next President and Chairman of the Board.
The decision was ratified Saturday, 28 June, 2025 at the 32nd Afreximbank Annual General Meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power where shareholders endorsed the board’s recommendation following a months-long global executive search.
Elombi, a Cameroonian national with nearly three decades at the bank, will take over from Benedict Oramah in September.
The in-coming Elombi becomes the fourth person to lead Afreximbank since its inception in 1993 and his selection underscores the Bank’s preference for institutional continuity at a time of strategic ambition and growing regional influence.
Elombi said in his acceptance speech that “I have worked alongside remarkable colleagues and extraordinary leaders to help shape this institution’s vision, its mandate as well as its growth. 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. I will work to preserve this important asset,” Elombi said in his acceptance speech.
Speaking at a press conference following his unanimous appointment at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja, Elombi pledged to prioritise the transformation of Africa’s trade structure and the overhaul of key infrastructure such as seaport terminals and power stations, as part of his vision to sustain and deepen the bank’s mandate.
He added that he would continue to uphold the treaty establishing Afreximbank, with a clear focus on transforming Africa’s trade structure. “To change the structure of our trade so that we can face development head on, which we have started doing over the last few years, but we cannot relinquish now. We have to continue that effort,” he said.
He emphasised that his agenda will focus on strategic infrastructure that enables trade, highlighting export processing zones, seaport terminals, power stations, and human capital. “That’s going to be about dealing with the export processing zones, dealing with the sea port terminals, dealing with the power stations, dealing with the infrastructure we need and the human resources and the capital we need to put them in many rounds,” he said. “When that is done, our continent will be transformed.”
Elombi’s comments followed a moment of transition at the bank, as outgoing president Benedict Oramah formally handed over after three decades of service.
Elombi’s journey to the apex of the bank as the new started in 1996 when he joined it as a legal officer.
Since then, he has held several senior roles, including most recently Executive Vice President for Governance, Legal and Corporate Services.
Elombi played a central role in establishing the Afreximbank Group structure and was instrumental in launching key subsidiaries, including FEDA (the Fund for Export Development in Africa) and AfrexInsure.
Elombi’s crisis leadership qualities was manifested tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he chaired the Emergency Response Committee.
Under his guidance then, the bank mobilized over $2 billion to procure and distribute vaccines across Africa and the Caribbean. That was not all as he was also in charge of the Equity Mobilisation and Investor Relations department, which raised $3.6 billion in ordinary equity by April 2025.
His appointment comes as the Bank looks to scale up operations, with the goal of becoming a $250 billion institution within the next decade—a vision publicly endorsed by outgoing President Oramah.
Born in Cameroon and educated in both Africa and the United Kingdom, Elombi holds a Ph.D. in commercial arbitration and a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics. Before joining Afreximbank, he taught law at the University of Hull.
The selection process, initiated in January 2025, included a global call for applications and interviews conducted by an international executive search firm. Final approval was given by the Bank’s General Meeting of Shareholders, in line with its charter which mandates a renewable five-year presidential term.
As Afreximbank continues to anchor its strategy around industrialisation, intra-African trade, and AfCFTA implementation, Elombi’s appointment is seen as a steady hand poised to deepen reforms and expand impact.
Elombi assumes leadership at a time when Africa’s financial architecture is undergoing significant transformation—with Afreximbank at the heart of it.
