Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Banking of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mr. Amr Kamel would be a credible chronicler of the advent and sustained the trajectory of the progress of Africa’s premier trade finance institution, having been at the Bank for all but two of its 26 years of existence.
Little wonder then, that Mr. Kamel currently oversees the Bank’s origination and business development, including Client Relations, Project Finance, Export Development, Syndication and Agency, Trade Finance, Guarantees, and Specialized Finance as well as Advisory and Capital Market departments. His experience spans many banking functions, including structured trade finance, documentary credits, operations, loan administration and agency, treasury, marketing, and business development.
For one who believes that more African entrepreneurs must be enabled to handle and benefit from businesses run within the continent, Mr. Kamel is leading the Bank’s team of business development experts to get as many as 700 commercial banks to provide financial services to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Everyone agrees that SMEs are the true drivers of growth and employment in developing economies and Kamel believes that if Afreximbank’s services reach more of this category of businesses by this year’s end, the Bank’s mandate of promoting, financing, promoting and expanding intra-and-extra-African trade would be met as its founding fathers expect.
The goal for the teeming small businesses in Africa is to have access to finance, which traditional commercial banks and their international partners have denied them and continued to make inaccessible as global uncertainties rock the international financial landscape. The Bank hopes to pump $25 billion into the market to support intra-African trade in the five-year period ending 2021.
Already, according to Mr. Kamel, Afreximbank is helping the continent to survive the ongoing global trade war through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, especially now that it is set for the launch of its operational phase. The inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair held last year in Cairo, Egypt attempted to connect buyers and sellers on the continent as never before.
Mr. Kamel hopes that the biennial event will grow to become a living bazaar for building long-term relationship among Africa’s businesses and entrepreneurs. Mr. Kamel already looks forward to the expansion of the fair and the buy-in of more businesses in the coming years. Mr. Kamel’s managerial acumen has been largely influenced by his academic and professional background. He is an Economics graduate of the American University of Cairo and holder of an MBA in Financial Management from City University, New York.
He started his banking career in 1985, working variously for Bank of Credit and Commerce, Bank of America, and Chemical Bank, before joining Afreximbank in 1995 as a Senior Operations Associate. Mr. Kamel then progressed through the ranks to the position of Director, Banking Operations in January 2011 before he was promoted to his current position in 2016. Indeed, based on Mr. Kamel’s vast experience in the financial sector, some refer to him as the Doyen of corporate banking.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.