James Emejo in Abuja
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has appointed Peter Adeshola Olowononi as Director of Regional Operations for Southern Africa, effective May 1.
Olowononi replaces Humphrey Nwugo, who has moved to a similar role in East Africa.
The Southern Africa region covers 13 countries: Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia. The regional offices are in Zimbabwe.
Prior to his appointment, Olowononi served as Director for Client Relations in Anglophone West Africa, covering Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Cape Verde.
In that role, he managed risk assets exceeding US$12 billion and revenue of more than US$1 billion
He played a key role in expanding Afreximbank’s Anglophone West Africa balance sheet by over US$10 billion between 2015 and 2025 and was involved in financing major projects, including the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, fertiliser plants, and infrastructure upgrades such as the expansion of the Federal Ocean Terminal in Onne.
Olowononi also supported healthcare and road projects in Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, and led financing interventions across Nigeria’s upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas sectors.
“He led Afreximbank’s strategic financing in support of the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas sector in Nigeria and is widely acknowledged as a leading subject matter expert,” the bank said in a statement.
It added that he structured trade finance in support of intra-African trade in cement, as well as leading cocoa traders and processors in Ghana and Nigeria.
He also supported the implementation of Afreximbank interventions through commercial banks, central banks and ministries of finance, helping them navigate the 2018 commodity price crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Olowononi joined Afreximbank in 2015 as manager for business development, Anglophone West Africa.
He has more than 20 years of banking experience and has structured transactions and extended credit across the oil and gas, manufacturing, maritime, aviation and financial services sectors worth more than US$20 billion over the past decade.
