Benedict Okey Oramah

Benedict Okechukwu “Okey” Oramah, CON, (born 24 July 1961) is a Nigerian economist who currently serves as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Biography

Early life and education

Benedict Okechukwu Oramah was born on 24 July 1961 to Chief Lazarus A. and  Francisca U. Oramah in Ahoada, in present day Rivers State of Nigeria. He is the youngest of four children.

Oramah attended the Merchants of Light School in Oba 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.

Career

Having joined the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) as an Assistant Manager in 1992, Oramah became one of the original employees of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in March 1994. He served as a Chief Analyst from 1994 until he was promoted to the position of Assistant Director in 1998 and then to Deputy Director in 2001. He became the substantive Director of the Planning and Business Development Department in 2004 and the Senior Director in 2007. In 2008, Oramah was appointed Executive Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Banking.

On 13 July 2015, Oramah succeeded Jean-Louis Ekra to become the third president of the bank. His appointment was renewed for a second five-year term in 2020.

Personal life

Oramah is married to Mrs. Chinelo Oramah. They have three daughters.

Board memberships

Oramah serves as a chairman or member of the board for a number of organizations. He is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the chairman of the Management Board of Directors of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the current chairman of the Executive Committee of the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB), the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the African Union Covid-19 Response Fund, Board member of the Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa (SDGCA), and serves on the Consultative Board on the World Cocoa Economy of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). He is also a member of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) Advisory Council, a member of the Practitioners Advisory Board of the Institute for Trade and Innovation (IfTI) at Offenburg University, Germany, a Board member of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) and a member of the Emerging Markets Advisory Council of the Institute of International Finance (IIF-EMAC).

Oramah also serves as a fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Recognition

Oramah has received numerous recognitions and awards. In 2023, he was honoured with Congolese national honour, the Officer of the Congolese Order of Merit. In 2022, he was honoured with the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Earlier in 2019, he received the Russian Federation’s state award of the Order of Friendship for his role in promoting Russia-Africa trade and investment relations. Also in 2019, the Cameroonian Government honoured him with the award of Knight of the National Order.

In addition, Oramah was named Africa's 2023 "Person of the Year" by Forbes Africa, 2023 "Business Leader of the Year" at CNBC Africa’s 11th All Africa Business Leaders Awards, and 2017 and 2022 "African Banker of the Year" by the African Bankers’ Magazine. He was awarded with the Financial Leadership Award by the Africa Prosperity Network in 2024. He also received the 2022 Margaret Herz Demant Award for African Art by the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Oramah has been listed as one of the 100 most influential Africans by New African Magazine from 2019 to 2022 and among the top 100 Influential Africans by Jeune Afrique magazine for multiple years since 2017. He also holds honorary doctorates from the Obafemi Awolowo University and Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

Published works

• A Path to Making Africa Great Again, New York University and Afreximbank, 2018

• Foundations of Structured Trade Finance, Wilmington, Ark Group Ltd., London, 2015

• Potentials for Diversifying Nigeria’s Non-Oil Exports to Non-Traditional Markets, Research Report 68, African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Nairobi, November 1997