Kanayo Awani drives intra-African trade growth through finance, industrialisation, and AfCFTA-focused strategic leadership initiatives.
When most people talk about Africa’s economic future, they speak of exports to Europe or trade deals with China. But Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President of the Intra-African Trade and Export Development Bank at the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), believes Africa’s true power lies in trading with itself. Her work focuses on transforming the continent’s fragmented economies into an integrated marketplace where African countries buy, sell, and produce for one another – fulfilling the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Awani’s career spans more than three decades of banking and leadership. She began at Citigroup Nigeria in 1990, where she spent 17 years working across Trade Services, Operations, Corporate Finance, and Corporate Banking. Rising to Vice President and Head of the Industrial and Commercial Corporations Division, she managed relationships with multinational and local corporations before joining Afreximbank in 2009 as Assistant Director of Trade Finance and Branches. Her leadership quickly turned that department into one of the bank’s most profitable units, setting the tone for what would become her life’s mission in advancing intra-African trade.
In 2016, she was appointed Managing Director of the Intra-African Trade Initiative, and under her leadership, the results were transformative. Afreximbank’s trade financing within Africa grew from around 3% in 2016 to over 28% by 2021, representing nearly $20 billion in trade and investment financing dedicated to boosting commerce between African countries.
The trade expert’s strategic initiatives have been instrumental in driving this progress. She helped pioneer the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) – a flagship event that brings together businesses, governments, and investors from across the continent to showcase products, close trade deals, and explore industrial partnerships.
The fair has generated billions of dollars in business deals and has become a cornerstone for implementing AfCFTA objectives. She also launched the Intra-African Trade Champions Program, which recognises and supports top African companies actively trading within the continent, enhancing their visibility and capacity to drive regional commerce.
Her leadership also extends to industrialisation and manufacturing. Awani oversees projects to establish industrial parks and export processing zones across Africa to encourage local value addition and reduce dependence on imported goods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led the bank’s efforts to harmonise pharmaceutical standards across African countries, a vital step toward strengthening regional health security and ensuring medicine could be produced and distributed efficiently within Africa.
Beyond trade and industry, Kanayo Awani has championed the continent’s creative economy through Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) – a $1 billion facility launched under her supervision to finance and promote Africa’s music, film, fashion, and technology industries.
In June 2022, she assumed her current appointment as one of the Executive Vice Presidents of the multilateral bank, and in November 2023, she was elected to the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Factoring Associations (FCI), where she represents Africa’s interests and promotes trade finance and factoring solutions for small and medium enterprises.
Her leadership has earned her numerous recognitions, including being named among the Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) in 2020, one of Forbes Afrique’s 50 Most Influential African Women in 2023, and a recipient of the AFIS Woman Leader Award (2022) and Africa Inspirational Personality of the Year by the Africa Women Impact Summit.
