Prof. Benedict Okechukwu Oramah, the President and Chairman of the Board of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has been honoured in Cairo with the prestigious FORBES AFRICA magazine 2023 Person of The Year award.
Oramah, 61, is the third president of Afreximbank, appointed and serving since 2015.
The award ceremony was attended by a large audience and featured the unveiling of FORBES AFRICA’s December 2023/January 2024 edition in which Prof. Oramah is the cover page personality.
Dr. Rakesh Wahi, Founder and Publisher of FORBES AFRICA, and Roberta Naicker, the Managing Director, emphasized that the award acknowledged the outstanding achievements of key African figures contributing significantly to the continent’s development.
Renuka Methil, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA, commended Prof. Oramah as a true pan-Africanist with a remarkable three-decade career at Afreximbank.
“With a career spanning three decades at Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah is a true pan-Africanist. In our almost hour-long interview Prof. Oramah’s stellar track record, coupled with his unbridled enthusiasm, passion, and contribution to the economic development of Africa shone through”, she said.
“Amongst many initiatives under his visionary leadership”, explained Ms Renuka Methil, “Afreximbank launched the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) which will be a historic project for cross-border payments in local African currencies. He is a resilient risk-taker and articulated so well what a new united Africa should, and would, look like.”
FORBES AFRICA Person of The Year nominations undergo thorough review by the magazine’s editorial and research teams, including journalists from its bureaus across Africa. Prof. Oramah’s name emerged from the shortlist and was unanimously selected as the winner for 2023.
This accolade places Prof. Oramah among other accomplished Africans who previously won the award in other years, including Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Group, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Dr. James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group, among others.
Benedict Oramah was born on 24 July 1961 and comes from Ahoada, in present day Rivers State of Nigeria.
He attended the Merchants of Light School in Oba, Anambra State before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan in 1983. He obtained his Master’s and PhD diplomas from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in the same field. He went on to earn an Advanced Management Certificate from Columbia Business School, New York.
In 2018, he was appointed a Professor of International Trade and Finance by Adeleke University, Nigeria.
Earlier on 18 November, President Oramah was honored with the Zik Prize in Professional Leadership at an event in Lagos, Nigeria. This recognition adds to the numerous other awards he has received for his exceptional contributions to the development and promotion of trade in Africa and his advocacy for initiatives driving intra-African trade.
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