George Elombi, the newly appointed President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has 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.
Speaking at a press conference following his unanimous appointment at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja, Elombi said 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.”