prof oramah - Afrikan Heroes

Given Opportunity, African Youth Have Been Force for Positive Change, says Prof. Oramah

March 13, 2020

Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-import Bank

The new Africa presents the continent’s youth with an excellent battleground to join and wage the economic struggle that will finally liberate Africa, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-import Bank (Afreximbank) has said. Speaking on Wednesday on the topic “Unleashing the Power of the Youth” while delivering the 14th Convocation Lecture of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UniZik) in Awka, Nigeria, Prof. Oramah said, “just as Africa’s political struggle was led by the youth, so will the youth lead the way for Africa’s economic emancipation”.

Youths represented agents of change across the social, political and economic spectra and history and contemporary evidence had shown that they had always been the catalyst to economic transformation, constituting the largest proportion of the labour force and the population at the height of the industrial revolutions in the advance countries, he said.

“History has shown that where the youth are given the opportunity, they have been the force for positive change,” noted Prof. Oramah who added that he considered the youth to be Africa’s greatest resource, “an asset much more valuable than all the oil and solid minerals we so frequently celebrate”.

He quoted the statement by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the former President of Nigeria after whom the university was named, that, “The immediate aim of African education should be to develop character, initiative, and ability of the youth of the country, so that they may be reliable, useful, and intelligent in the rapidly changing life and circumstances of their own people. …….. Anything narrower than this must lead to a stagnant and menacing flood of unemployed and unemployable youth.”

Prof. Oramah noted that the ubiquitous social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; Tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft; and e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Alibaba; were founded by people in their youth. Youth-powered digital businesses accounted for about two-thirds of the U.S. economy, one-third of the Chinese economy and eight per cent of the Indian economy, he added, saying that those companies were bigger in value than many African economies.

Despite limited opportunities, however, Africa’s youth was beginning to make important contributions to economic transformation on the continent, said Prof. Oramah. The African versions of Steve Job, Mark Zuckerberg, Alexander McQueen and Calvin Klein were rising like the Phoenix while others, like Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Lily Alfonso and Njideka Akunyili-Crosby, all started making impact in their various endeavours as youth.

Prof Oramah cited Ndubuisi Eze, a young drone expert who was identified by Singaporean investors at the inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair in Cairo in 2018 and, subsequently, relocated to Singapore where he was able to get support to develop his company and now produces and exports drones to global markets.

Prof. Oramah also highlighted the Nigerian youth-led entertainment industry which is making significant gains and inroads into the global scene and noted that Afreximbank had recently announced a $500 million Creative Industry Financing Facility which was available to operators in the full spectrum of Africa’s creative sector. That facility was expected to boost youth participation in the African creative economy.

Prof. Oramah urged the youth to be prepared to take advantage of emerging opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and announced that Afreximbank had launched a number of initiatives and programmes to support African economies and the youth to maximize the benefits of the AfCFTA. Those included an incubation lab being put in place to support innovation and help bring innovative products to market.

Prof. Oramah paid tribute to the leaders whose visions made UniZik possible, including Chief Jim Nwobodo and Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, two former governors of Nigeria’s Anambra State, and former Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida under whose leadership the former Anambra State University of Science and Technology was renamed Nnamdi Azikiwe University and made a federal university.

Prof. Oramah also paid tribute to Dr. Azikiwe, who was Governor General of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and President from 1963 to 1966, saying that he was a freedom fighter who devoted his youth and entire life towards the emancipation of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular.

“He was fearless in his struggle, knew no boundaries in his scope and leveraged his legendary intellectual capacity to overcome the most complex of challenges. He understood the importance of education in the struggle for Africa’s renaissance. His passion for scholarship and Africa’s emancipation – what he stood for and his fulfilled life lived – presents us with an armour to engage in the complex battles of today,” said the Afreximbank President.

Earlier, Prof. Rasheed Abubakar, Executive Secretary of Nigeria’s National Universities Commission and Chairman of the Convocation Lecture, introduced Prof. Oramah, describing him as “one of the greatest minds” and saying that his lecture would stress the primacy of education.

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.

————————————————————————————————–

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.