Emeka Emuwa emerges AFC Chairman

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading instrumental infrastructure solutions provider, today announces the appointment of Mr. Emeka Emuwa as Chairman of its Board of Directors.

Emuwa brings a wealth of experience spread over three decades leading and transforming banking institutions across Africa. After completing a sterling 25-year career with Citibank where he left as the Country Officer and Managing Director of Citibank in Nigeria, he went on to serve as the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Nigeria.

In this role, he led the bank’s transformation and worked successfully with the new shareholders to transform and restore one of Nigeria’s oldest institutions back to its rightful position as a credible and strong provider of financial services.

Emuwa’s extensive experience and unwavering dedication to the advancement of Africa make him a valuable asset to AFC at a time when the Corporation is rapidly expanding its operations across the continent and building partnerships through international collaborations.

He has been a part of AFC’s Board since 2015, previously serving as the Chairman of the Board Risk and Investment Committee, and as a member of the Board Nominations and Governance Committee. He is also the Chairman of Tangerine Financial (U.K.), the holding company for a financial services group providing insurance and pensions solutions across the continent. Mr Emuwa is thus well positioned to oversee and guide AFC on its future strategy and growth aspirations.

The Corporation’s mission to accelerate development impact, foster industrialisation, and enhance value capture and retention across the continent through the provision of critical infrastructure, is crucial for African development and prosperity.

Speaking on the appointment, President & CEO of AFC, Samaila Zubairu in a statement said: “Mr. Emuwa’s considerable experience, insightful perspectives and immense dedication to Africa’s development seamlessly align with our mission.

“We are confident that under his continued guidance, AFC will continue to make significant strides in transforming the continent. He brings a deep understanding of Africa’s financial landscape within a global context, and has a clear vision for enabling AFC to further amplify its impact.”

Emuwa commented on his appointment, saying: “I am deeply honoured to be appointed Chairman of AFC, an institution that has, over the past 16 years, evolved into the leading infrastructure investor in Africa, delivering transformational projects across pivotal sectors of the economy. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the board, management, and all stakeholders to advance AFC’s mission and strengthen its role as a driving force for economic growth and infrastructure development on the African continent.”

AFC with its partners is the biggest investor in renewable energy in Africa following its recent acquisition of Lekela Power, and leadership of major wind power projects including in Djibouti. The Corporation’s development of special economic zones through its investee company ARISE IIP is helping to diversify the economies of nine countries, building a global manufacturing powerhouse. AFC was appointed lead developer of the Lobito Corridor and Zambia-Lobito Rail Line, bringing together partners including the US government, the European Union, the African Development Bank and the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

The United Kingdom Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Rt. Hon. Kemi Badenoch, has disclosed the United Kingdom government will work with Nigeria to reduce barriers to trade, stressing that the aim is to ensure that business between the two countries goes as smoothly as possible.

She stated that businesses from the United Kingdom are excited about investing in Nigeria and Lagos in particular.

She said this during a courtesy visit to Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday.

Badenoch, who is also the Secretary of State who covers exports, said, “Primarily, I want to continue doing what my main job is, which is promoting British business and international trade all across the world and I visit many countries.

“And of course, when the opportunity arose, I definitely wanted to come to Nigeria. As many people know, this is the country that I lived in when I was a child. And the first meeting that I had was a British business roundtable, which is businesses from the United Kingdom that are investing in Nigeria, mainly in Lagos.

“We want to make sure that we have the two-way trade. We know the challenges that Nigeria is having with foreign exchange. One of the ways that you can resolve that is exporting more and finding out what we can do on the United Kingdom side to reduce those barriers to trade and ensure that business between the two countries goes as smoothly as possible.”

Lagos State Governor, implored foreign investors, particularly the business community in the United Kingdom to consider Lagos as a destination of choice for their investments.

He said his administration will continue to make Lagos a destination of choice by ensuring a friendly business environment for investors.

The Governor also stressed the need for improved trading activities to improve Nigeria’s economy, saying “Let us consume what we grow and grow what we consume to reduce our dependence on foreign currency.”

He said: “For us, we see a whole lot of opportunities that Lagos can be for our country while also identifying and managing the challenges that we need to deal with on a continuous basis.

“We will continue to make the environment investment and business-friendly. We will continue to make Lagos a destination of choice. We understand that people have choices but they can indeed make those investment decisions in Lagos.

“Lagos is one of the reference points not only in West Africa but in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa and we are excited that you are here. We are hoping that you have seen one or two things that you can take back and you can continue to assure the business community in the United Kingdom that Nigeria is ripe already and Lagos is a destination that they should consider.”