Detroit, Michigan, USA, 28 September 2022 – Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has received in Detroit, Michigan, USA, the 2022 Margaret H. Demant African Art Award, presented by the Friends of African and African American Art (FAAAA) of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The prestigious Award was bestowed on President Oramah in recognition of Afreximbank’s pioneering support for Africa’s creative and cultural industries under his leadership. This support is exemplified by interventions such as the Afreximbank Art Programme and the Creative Africa Nexus Initiative (CANEX).
The Margaret Herz Demant African Art Award recognises individuals who have promoted and supported African art and culture through the creation of art, scholarship exploring its significance and history, as well as its collection, exhibiting and funding. Created in 2005 as the African Art Recognition Award, it was renamed in 2019 in honour of Margaret Herz Demant, a major patron and benefactor of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) whose personal collection was gifted to the museum.
Dr. Salvador Salort-Pons, President, Director, and CEO of Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), commented:
“The DIA is honored to present the Margaret Herz Demant African Art Award to Professor Benedict Oramah in recognition of all that he and his team have accomplished and continue to do leading the African Export-Import Bank’s groundbreaking arts programs.”
Prof. Benedict Oramah commented:
“I am greatly honored to receive this award and pleased that Afreximbank’s extensive and ambitious programme of activities to cultivate and develop Africa’s creative and cultural industries are being acknowledged in such esteemed quarters.
I am particularly impressed that the DIA is able to appreciate the link we are creating between Africa’s rich culture and the creative content our youth are taking to the market.”
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About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Afreximbank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of 2021, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at about US$25 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$4 billion. Afreximbank disbursed more than US$51 billion between 2016 and 2021. The Bank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com