Cairo, 19 June 2017 – Shareholders of FCI, the global representative body for the factoring, invoice financing and asset based lending industry, have reelected Dr. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), into the organization’s Board, allowing him to retain the only Board seat reserved for representatives of FCI affiliate members.
The re-election, which took place during FCI’s 49th Annual Meeting in Lima on 14 of June, will see Dr. Oramah in office for the next two years. The re-election continues a pattern of increasing prominence for factoring on the African continent where Afreximbank is using its position to leverage international finance and know-how to support African companies engaged in factoring.
In a statement after the election, Dr. Oramah, who was represented by Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative, said that the election would position Afreximbank to contribute more effectively in shaping FCI’s strategy for “the increasingly important African market”. It would also assure the organisation of a strong voice in the continent, which is emerging as “factoring’s new frontier”, he added.
According to him, Afreximbank could serve as a valuable resource for FCI members seeking to enter the African market, by providing the trust and confidence that emerging African factors need during the teething stages of the adoption of factoring.
Earlier, Ms. Kanayo Awani, who is also Chairperson of FCI’s Africa Chapter, presented an overview of the status of the annual activities of the Chapter for 2016/2017, saying that there had been considerable progress in terms of increased awareness by African entities with regard to factoring, skills scale-up and keener interest by governments in improving regulatory and legal frameworks.
She reported a 48 per cent growth in factoring turnover in Africa from 2015 to 2016, which brought the 2016 turnover to about EUR28 billion.
FCI was set up in 1968 as an umbrella organization for independent factoring companies around the world and has grown into the world’s representative factoring network, with more than 400 members in 90 countries.
The Afreximbank delegation to the Lima meeting also included Eric Intong and Teddy Ngidjol of the Trade Finance Department, Enga Kameni of the Legal Department, and Omar Badr of the Client the Relations Department.
Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative, addressing shareholders at FCI’s 49th Annual Meeting in Lima.
Media Contact: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238)
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About Afreximbank:
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. The Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors. Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, it has approved more than $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $10.3 billion in 2016. Afreximbank had total assets of $9.4 billion as at 30 April 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com