We have made African currencies legal tender across borders – Oramah

… IATF attracted over $170bn investment

… Afreximbank changed our life – Chinelo

Cairo, Egypt || Benedict Oramah, outgoing president of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), on Friday said African currencies have now been made legal tender across the continent’s borders.

He disclosed this in his farewell speech at the Afreximbank Legacy Conference and Investiture in Cairo, Egypt, where he reflected on a decade of transformative achievements under his leadership.

According to Oramah, the tangible changes made by Afreximbank in the last 10 years have moved Africa closer to true self-determination. “We can now point to those things that exist today, new institutional arrangements and interventions that have joined as formidable forces in Africa’s armoury in its fight towards true self-determination,” he said. “Many of these were mere hopes and aspirations 10 years ago.”

He explained that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) implementation is now ahead of schedule, largely due to Afreximbank’s strategic support. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), backed by Afreximbank’s three billion US dollar Clearing and Settlement Facility, has become operational in 20 countries and continues to expand. “After more than 60 years of political independence, we are finally on the verge of integrating the continent’s 42 payment systems into a single payment rail. Finally, we have made African currencies legal tenders across African borders,” Oramah said.

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He added that Afreximbank has been addressing Africa’s chronic lack of trade information through the creation and implementation of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), which has been held four times and attracted over 170 billion US dollars in trade and investment deals, drawing more than 180,000 visitors. He also mentioned the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG), a digital platform designed to break down information barriers, and the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centres (AATCs) established across the continent to serve as hubs for trade and investment information.

Oramah noted that about 500 standards have been harmonised for key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, agriculture, automobiles, and textiles, enabling smoother intra-African trade. To sustain this progress, Afreximbank is building testing and certification centres across Africa. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Bank launched the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, supported by one billion US dollars in guarantee limits.

He said the Bank’s interventions have catalysed industrialisation, with Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones now emerging rapidly across the continent, creating manufacturing bases where none existed before. “We have supported the emergence of heavy industries, such as the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant, which now export globally,” he said.

Oramah also highlighted how Afreximbank’s work has strengthened socio-cultural and economic ties between Africa, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the wider African diaspora.

Through projects such as the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), he said the Bank has paved the way for accessible, high-quality healthcare for Africans.

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Reflecting on Afreximbank’s institutional growth, Oramah disclosed that the Bank’s balance sheet and guarantees grew almost eightfold from six billion US dollars in September 2015 to nearly forty-four billion US dollars in September 2025. During the same period, revenues and net income expanded significantly, while shareholders received a cumulative dividend payout of almost 1.4 billion US dollars between 2015 and 2024.

He expressed gratitude to the Bank’s staff, partners, and stakeholders for their unwavering support throughout his tenure. “We could not have accomplished these without the extraordinary support from many of you gathered here today and even from far and wide,” he said. “Your support has been instrumental in elevating the Bank to its current stature. A key purpose of my speech this evening is to say thank you for giving me immense opportunities, tolerating my weaknesses, and helping me rise to my full potential.”

In her farewell remarks, Chinelo Oramah, wife of the Afreximbank president, described how deeply the Bank’s impact had extended beyond the professional sphere into their family life. “The Bank did not just employ my husband; it invested in our entire family’s wellbeing, growth, and future,” she said. “We often speak of Afreximbank’s impact in terms of industrial parks, special economic zones, trade finance facilities, and continental integration. These are monumental achievements that will define Africa’s economic trajectory for generations. But beneath those impressive numbers and projects are real people and families whose lives have been transformed by the Bank’s work.”

She added that the Bank had changed their lives profoundly and irrevocably. “Words of thanks seem insufficient,” she said. “To every member of the Afreximbank family,  from the Executive Board and management to the support staff and those working behind the scenes, I extend my deepest gratitude. You have not only supported my husband’s leadership; you have supported our entire family.”