ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Newly inaugurated President of the African Export-Import Bank, Dr. George Elombi, has voiced concern over concessional lending to African nations, cautioning that such loans often carry hidden costs that weaken rather than strengthen economies.
While multilateral institutions like the IMF and World Bank continue to provide affordable, long-term concessional loans, Elombi warned that their hidden costs often outweigh the benefits.
Speaking during his investiture ceremony in Cairo on Saturday, Elombi emphasized that concessional loans come with policy conditions that stifle growth and undermine sovereignty.
He argued that these loan conditions lead to job losses, political instability, restricted public investment in industrialization, and long-term dependence on commodity exports.
“They have suggested that the cost of our loans is high. But what they have failed to point out is the actual cost of their so-called concessional loans conditionalities that cause job losses and push young men and women onto the streets, reforms that restrict or prevent public investments in productive sectors, and heightened commodity dependence,” he stated.
Elombi described recent efforts to challenge Afreximbank’s preferred creditor status as “a coordinated attack on African-owned institutions.”
“Make no mistake, it is a coordinated attack on African sovereignty. What is strange and ironic is that these attacks are not because we fail. It is because we are successful,” he said.
Reaffirming Afreximbank’s mission, Elombi explained that the Bank’s mandate “is not limited to short-term trade finance but extends to transforming the structure of African trade.”
“How can Africa trade unless it produces? And how can it produce without transforming the very structure of its trade? This structural transformation is not mission drift; it is mission delivery,” he declared.
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He pledged to promote value addition in key minerals, end raw commodity exports, and strengthen regional industries that retain wealth within Africa.
Elombi also unveiled plans for a new financing window and a “Strategic Minerals Development Programme” to support value chains from extraction to manufacturing.
He urged investment in shared infrastructure, cross-border trade systems, and digital innovation, even proposing a Pan-African Digital Currency and stablecoin to boost financial integration.
“Should we not now explore the creation of a Pan-African Digital Currency, including a stablecoin, to truly own our economic destiny in the digital age?” he asked.
Elombi vowed to uphold and expand the legacy of his predecessor, Professor Benedict Oramah, under whose leadership Afreximbank’s total assets rose to $43.5bn, revenues to $3.24bn, and net income to about $1bn.
He noted that the Bank’s initiatives supported vaccine delivery during COVID-19, addressed the Ukraine war’s economic impacts, financed the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, and backed major industrial projects like Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery and the African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja.
The new president set an ambitious goal of expanding the Bank’s balance sheet to $250bn within 10 years, with discussions among leaders pushing the target to $350bn.
He called for mobilizing African and diaspora wealth including sovereign funds, pensions, and private equity to drive transformative projects.
Elombi proposed a “Pan-African Sovereign Wealth Virtual Fund Network” to pool resources for large-scale industrial and infrastructure ventures.
Reaffirming Afreximbank’s partnerships with African institutions and the African Union, he stressed that the continent’s success relies on unity and scale.
According to him, Africa’s future depends on producing and processing within the continent to build resilient industries and create sustainable employment.
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During the event, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, presided over the symbolic handover and administered the oath of office, officially installing Dr. Elombi as Afreximbank’s new President and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Edun, who also chairs the Bank’s General Meeting of Shareholders, described the ceremony as more than a leadership change, calling it “the dawn of a new era” for Africa’s financial independence.
“Though this appointment is not merely a shift in leadership, it is the dawn of a new era, a moment that may as well have created a central role in the shifting of Africa’s financial sovereignty and its true future,” he remarked.
He extended Nigeria’s congratulations to Elombi, describing his rise as a testament to African resilience and renewal, and acknowledged the presence of dignitaries from across Africa and the Caribbean.
“Your presence has specified the enduring coalition that we have built, grounded in a shared vision of Africa’s development and prosperity,” Edun noted.
He also lauded outgoing president Professor Benedict Oramah as “a blessing to Africa,” commending his role in reshaping African trade and positioning the continent on the global economic stage through initiatives such as special economic zone financing and crisis-response programs.
Addressing Elombi, Edun said his appointment represents both continuity and renewal, adding that he takes office at a defining time for the continent.
“You are no stranger to cooperating partners. You now assume command at a time when Africa’s destiny is being rewritten through resilience and innovation,” he said. “Your appointment represents continuity. It represents renewal. It is a seamless transition from the solid foundation laid by your predecessor sitting right next to you.”
The minister concluded that Elombi’s leadership begins at a historic moment when “the universe is aligned for Africa’s progress.”
He urged him to uphold Afreximbank’s founding vision of a self-reliant, integrated, and prosperous Africa before formally coordinating the signing of the official proclamation confirming Elombi’s investiture as the Bank’s fourth president.