AfriExim bank - Afrikan Heroes

Afreximbank Gets Global Credit Rating Upgrade

December 7, 2019

The pan African trade finance bank, African Export and Import Bank ( Afreximbank which has been at the forefront of promoting inter and intra African trade across the continent has received a rating upgrade by the Global Credit Rating (GCR). This was made known over the week by the Global Credit Rating which affirms Afreximbank with a long-term international scale rating from BBB+ to A-. GCR also affirmed the Bank’s short-term rating at A2 and the outlook as stable.

In the announcement released in Johannesburg, South Africa, the rating agency said that, in granting the upgrade, it acknowledged Afreximbank’s tenacity and resilience in managing risks in its operating environment, which was generally perceived to be high risk.

“The ratings on Afreximbank balances its significant exposure to high risk operating environments, fairly strong and diverse membership base, demonstrated preferential creditor treatment, strong status within the region and good track record of fulfilling mandate, beyond adequate current levels of capitalisation, strong risk position, stable funding and good liquidity position,” stated GCR.

According to agency, the new rating also captures the Bank’s key strength in structured trade finance which demonstrates its ability to de-risk its lending portfolio through high quality collateral comprising cash, insurance from highly-rated insurers, sovereign backed securities, assignment of receivables (which transfers repayment risk to OECD countries), amongst others.

“This upgrade confirms stakeholders’ deep confidence in Afreximbank’s compelling credit story, which is punctuated by hard work and an innovation culture,” said Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah, in reaction to the announcement. “Afreximbank is committed to continuing to develop and implement innovative risk management approaches in the management of its lending book and capital.”

Prof. Oramah described the upgrade as a major milestone in the Bank’s history and said that, coming half way into the implementation of the Bank’s current strategic plan, it supported the fulfilment of one of the overarching pillars of that plan, which was financial soundness, by positioning it to leverage competitive financial resources into the Africa.

Apart from enabling the Bank to competitively leverage international capital and having a positive impact on its reputation, the upgrade is expected to aid the Bank in rolling out its non-funded programmes, such as the Afreximbank Guarantee Programme, and to help it promote trade with reduced strain on capital. It will also help position the Bank to play a major role in the development of intra-African trade and in trade between Africa and the rest of the world.

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

Afreximbank President Receives Russian National Award

November 5, 2019

The President of African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) Prof. Benedict Okechukwu Oramah has been bestowed with Russia’s National Honour by President Vladimir Putin. The Honour which was bestowed on Prof. Oramah today in Moscow is the national honour of “The Order of Friendship”. The award took place during a ceremony held in the Kremlin, seat of the Government of the Russian Federation, and was witnessed by senior members of the government and other dignitaries.

The Order of Friendship is a state decoration established by Boris Yeltsin, the first president of the Russian Federation, and is awarded to Russian and foreign nationals for Special merit in strengthening peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding between nations, for fruitful work on the convergence and mutual enrichment of cultures of nations and peoples; the active conservation, development and promotion of the cultural and historical heritage of Russia; great contribution to the implementation of joint ventures with the Russian Federation, major economic projects and attracting investments into the economy of the Russian Federation; and broad charitable activities.

The award to President Oramah falls under the category of “Special merit in strengthening peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding between nations, for fruitful work on the convergence and mutual enrichment of cultures of nations and peoples”. It is, specifically, in recognition of the role played by Afreximbank revitalising trade and economic relations between Africa and Russia as evident in the success of the Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum held in Sochi, Russian Federation, from 23 to 24 October, as well as the rapidly rising trade and investment relations between Russia and Africa.

Also named as recipients of the Order of Friendship for 2019 were Vice-President Rosario Murillo Zambrana of Nicaragua; William Craft Brumfield, a U.S. citizen and professor of Slavic studies at Tulane University; Professor Emeritus Rein Müllerson, an Estonian citizen and international law researcher at Tallinn University; Nikos Daskalandonakis, Russian Honorary Consul in Crete; and Armi Lopez Garcia, Russian Honorary Consul in the Philippines.

Some previous winners of the honour include former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad; former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, among others.

Photo Caption: President Vladimir Putin of Russia (left) in handshake with Afreximbank President Prof Benedict Oramah after bestowing the Order of Friendship on him.

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.

Prof. Okey Oramah Wins the 2019 African Renaissance and Diaspora Network Private Sector Development Award

September 28, 2019

The President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Okechukwu Oramah yesterday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, received the 2019 African Renaissance and Diaspora Network Private Sector Development Award. The award which celebrates leadership for and from the African continent in pursuit of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 was presented by the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN) during the “Africa: Open for Business Summit” on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah displays the 2019 African Renaissance and Diaspora Network Private Sector Development Award he received at the United Nations Headquarters. With him were Dr. Djibril Diallo, CEO of ARDN (left) and Constance Newman, Chairman of ARDN.

In a citation preceding the award, Constance Newman, Chairman of ARDN and a former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, said that Prof. Oramah was selected as the 2019 recipient in recognition of his exemplary leadership in the fields of trade, trade finance and economics, and as a scholar and prolific writer.

“As the leader of Afreximbank, you have not only overseen the strengthening of trade activities throughout Africa, you have also played pivotal roles in the application of the Bank’s expertise to support humanitarian emergency relief programmes,” she said.

Ms. Newman also cited his achievement in the “development of the Bank’s Health and Medical Tourism Programme, working with international partners to foster the emergence of world class medical facilities and research centers across Africa designed to improve life expectancy as well as stem the outflow of billions in foreign exchange”. In this way, Afreximbank dramatically echoes the ideals of the United Nations and its Strategic Development Goals, she concluded.

In an acceptance speech, Prof. Oramah said that he saw the award as a call to action to do more to support Africa’s effort to achieve economic growth, arguing that Africa needed economic independence as political independence was not enough. He said that the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was an attempt to enable Africa to achieve economic independence, announcing that Afreximbank planned to disburse about $25 billion toward intra-African trade during its current strategic plan period. Afreximbank had also set aside $1 billion as an adjustment facility to assist countries that might be impacted negatively by the takeoff of the AfCFTA to enable them adjust in an orderly manner, added the President.

Earlier, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the 74th United Nations General Assembly, said that Africa was central to the world and was always open for business. He invited people from around the world to come and trade with the continent. Also receiving award at the ceremony was Epsy Campbell Barr, First Vice-President of Costa Rica.

ARDN is an international non-governmental organisation affiliated with the United Nations with the mission to accelerate the attainment of African renaissance by advocating for and supporting United Nations objectives and by mobilizing the passion of governments, educators, artists, intellectuals, the private sector, civil society and youth, using the power of art, sport and culture for creating a better world.

The Africa: Open for Business Summit was co-organized by ARDN and the African Union, the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, the United Nations Department of Public Information, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, UN-Habitat, UNDP and the Global Partnerships Forum.

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.

Prof. Oramah Calls for Vehicles that Facilitate Cross-Border Trade in Africa

September 26, 2019

As parts of efforts aimed at strengthening cooperation and facilitating cross boarder trade across Africa, the President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, has urged African countries to create vehicles that would make it possible for manufacturers to trade across the continent. Prof. Oramah made this known yesterday while speaking at a High-level event on the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa 2016-2019, organised at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.

The event which was well attended by a cross section of dignitaries from Africa had Li Yong, Director-General, United Nations Industrial Organisation; Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry; Dr. Adewunmi Adesina, President, African Development Bank; Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, United nations Economic Commission for Africa; and Ali Mufuruki, Vice Chairman, AfroChampions Club as participants. A second session also featured President Apha Conde of Guinea; President Edgar Lungu of Zambia and Vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan of Cote d’Ivoire. The high-level event, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, had the theme “Promoting innovation and infrastructure development: A pathway for boosting manufacturing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

BFA Becomes First Angolan Bank to Sign on to Afreximbank’s Trade Facilitation Programme

Prof. Oramah argued that for manufacturers across the continent to make the much desired impact in getting their wares across to consumers, that there is need for a special vehicle that will help them in handling the marketing end of their products and the intricacies involved in export and trading. This is imperative because the manufacturers are not well versed equipped for those roles, he said. Export trading companies had been one of the approaches used to tackle that challenge, he said, adding that the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area also attempted to address the issue.

Prof. Oramah said that previous efforts by African countries to use manufacturing and industrialisation as engines for development and growth had failed largely as a result of issues such as lack of access to market, lack of capital and skills and inadequate infrastructure. He stated that many large-scale investors had little interest in investing in Africa in a massive way because of the fragmented nature of the African market.

The President suggested that Africa should focus more on labour-intensive manufacturing which had more net effect on the population than on capital intensive industries. He also stressed the need for Africa to focus on skills development, in particular, by going back to building technical schools and supporting universities of technology in order to equip people with the right skills for the kind of jobs that were beginning to emerge. Prof. Oramah used the opportunity to announce that Afreximbank had launched an equity investment fund, the Fund for Export Development in Africa, which would help attract foreign direct investment to support industrialisation and manufacturing in Africa.

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Caption for the Photograph
Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah (right) poses with other speakers, (L-R) Li Yong, Director-General, United Nations Industrial Organisation; President Apha Conde of Guinea; President Edgar Lungu of Zambia; vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan of Cote d’Ivoire and Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, following the high-level event at the United Nations Headquarters.

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.

BFA Becomes First Angolan Bank to Sign on to Afreximbank’s Trade Facilitation Programme

September 19, 2019

As part of efforts to expand its facility across the African continent, African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a Trade Facilitation Programme worth $50 million with the Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA). With this development, the BFA becomes the first Angolan financial institution to sign up to Afreximbank’s Trade Facilitation programme (AFTRAF) for an initial $50-million line of credit.

Dr Benedit Oramah, president, AfriExim Bank

The AFTRAF was instituted with the aim of supporting African banks to bridge the gap created by the withdrawal of international correspondent banks from the continent. Thus the BFA will use the AFTRAF line of credit to confirm letters of credit and to issue guarantees, avalisation and other trade enabling products, said Afreximbank in an announcement in Cairo today. The line could also be increased based on demand from the Angola market.

According to Afreximbank, the AFTRAF programme provides access to a global network of confirming banks and complements the capacity of African banks to provide trade financing solutions by providing risk mitigation in new or challenging markets where trade lines may be constrained.

The AFTRAF programme is expected to help African importers and exporters to increase their trade volumes with African counterparties and internationally and to enhance confidence in the settlement of international trade transactions for critical imports into Africa while ensuring access to trade finance at reasonable cost.

So far, 100 Banks from 26 Afreximbank member countries have signed on to the AFTRAF

The signing of the AFRAF facility by BFA is part of ongoing cooperation between Afreximbank and BFA as both are actively engaged in other areas in support of the Angolan economy.

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.