Libreville, Gabon, 22 September 2025: – President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon, has conferred the honour of Commander of the National Order of Merit on Prof. Benedict Oramah, outgoing President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and Dr. George Elombi, the Bank’s incoming President and current Executive Vice President in charge of Governance, Legal and Corporate Services.
The top national awards, which were presented in Libreville, Gabon, on 15 September 2025, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a 300-MW EUR 200-million thermal power station financed by Afreximbank, sought to honour President Oramah and Executive Vice President Elombi for “Afreximbank’s support to the Gabonese economy.”
According to the Government of Gabon, the awards were in recognition of Afreximbank’s pivotal roles in the ongoing transformation of Gabon’s economy. Over the last decade, the Bank, in collaboration with Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP), have invested in the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that have become a catalyst for industrial transformation, job and wealth creation, as well as poverty reduction in the Central African country. The Government also acknowledges the commitment of Afreximbank to supporting its economic transformation agenda, through the Bank’s commitment to invest US$5 billion towards domestic processing of manganese, modernisation of the railway network, strengthening of energy production and construction of three power plants in Libreville, Port-Gentil, and Lambaréné.
Accepting the awards, Prof. Oramah reaffirmed Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting economic and social transformation in Gabon through the implementation of the Bank’s mandate to facilitate and finance intra- and extra-African trade.
He said: “Executive Vice President, Dr. George Elombi, and I are truly honored by this recognition. We sincerely appreciate and share the awards with our entire team at Afreximbank, whose hard work and determination continue to pave the way for Africa’s socio-economic transformation.”
President Oramah also acknowledged the Government of the Republic of Gabon, under the leadership of President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, for the bold and decisive development agenda that is geared towards restoring hope and prosperity to the people of Gabon. He added that “we thank the Gabonese government for associating Afreximbank with this ambitious economic transformation agenda.
President Oramah emphasized that Africa’s economic transformation must be achieved through ‘our own efforts rather than relying on external support’. “In that spirit, Afreximbank plans to establish a US$5 billion Country Programme to support the execution of strategic development projects that, we hope, will contribute to the transformation of the Gabonese economy,” added Prof. Oramah.
ENDS
About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation 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. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa2), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
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Vincent Musumba
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Email: press@afreximbank.com