FORBES AFRICA has named Prof. Benedict O. Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year.
Also the cover star of FORBES AFRICA’s December 2023/January 2024 edition, Prof. Oramah, was honored at a cover unveiling ceremony attended by esteemed and distinguished guests in Cairo on December 2, 2023. Dr. Rakesh Wahi, Founder and Publisher of FORBES AFRICA, and Roberta Naicker, Managing Director of FORBES AFRICA, presented Prof. Oramah with the prestigious award.
The FORBES AFRICA Person of the Year Award recognizes the stellar accomplishments of leading Africans contributing to the continent and follows FORBES AFRICA’s tradition of uncovering the stalwarts in Africa's rising growth story.
The nominations for Person of the Year were drawn from suggestions from the magazine’s editorial and research teams, including journalists from its bureaus across Africa. After an Africa-wide review of prominent contributors to the continent, Prof. Oramah’s name was shortlisted and unanimously adjudged the winner.
"With a career going back three decades at Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah is a true Pan-Africanist. In our almost hour-long interview with him, we could sense the unbridled enthusiasm and passion he has for developing trade, trade finance, growth, and new avenues of opportunity on the continent. Among the many initiatives under his stewardship, 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 has articulated so well what a new united Africa should and would look like,” says Renuka Methil, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA.
Prof. Oramah joins a prestigious list of high achievers on the continent who have previously received this award and have graced the covers of FORBES AFRICA, including Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Dr. James Mwangi, CEO, Equity Group; Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank; Aliko Dangote, CEO, Dangote Group; Mohammed Dewji, President, MeTL Group; and Thuli Madonsela, the former Public Protector of South Africa.
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