Dr. Benedict Oramah, President, AFREXIMBANK

Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah assumed the position of President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) on 21 September 2015.

He was previously the Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Banking from October 2008. In that position, he supervised the business development departments and units of the Bank, namely, Trade Finance and Branches; Project and Export Development Finance; Syndications and Specialized Finance; and Corporate Finance and Advisory Services. He also supervised the Research and Knowledge Management department and assisted the President in overseeing the Strategic Planning and International Cooperation functions. Dr. Oramah joined Afreximbank as Chief Analyst in 1994 and was promoted to the position of Senior Director, Planning and Business Development in 2007.

Prior to joining Afreximbank, he was an Assistant Research Manager at the Nigerian Export Import Bank from 1992.

Dr. Oramah holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics, obtained in 1987 and 1991 respectively, from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He received a B.Sc. degree, also in agricultural economics, from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1983. He has published a book, “Foundations of Structured Trade Finance”, and has written more than 35 articles on a wide range of African economic, trade and trade finance issues.

He is a regular speaker in trade and trade finance conferences around the world. Dr. Oramah serves as Chairperson of the Africa Chapter of the International Factors Group (IFG) and is on the Board of the IFG and the Editorial Boards of Trade and Forfaiting Review and the Journal of African Trade. He is also a member of the Consultative Board on World Cocoa Economy of the International Cocoa Organization.