Afreximbank Names Peter Adeshola Olowononi as Southern Africa Regional Operations Director

The African Export‑Import Bank (Afreximbank) has named Peter Adeshola Olowononi its new Director of Regional Operations for Southern Africa, with the appointment taking effect on 1 May. Olowononi succeeds Humphrey Nwugo, who has been reassigned to a comparable position in East Africa.

The Southern Africa region is one of Afreximbank’s principal operating areas and includes 13 countries: Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia. The regional office is located in Zimbabwe.

Prior to this role, Olowononi served as Afreximbank’s Director of Client Relations for Anglophone West Africa, where he oversaw operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, São Tomé and Príncipe and Cape Verde. In that capacity he managed risk assets exceeding US$12 billion and helped generate revenue above US$1 billion. He also contributed to expanding Afreximbank’s Anglophone West Africa balance sheet by more than US$10 billion between 2015 and 2025.

Olowononi has been involved in financing major industrial and infrastructure projects across the region, such as the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, fertilizer plants, and the expansion of the Federal Ocean Terminal in Onne. He has also supported critical healthcare and road infrastructure projects in Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, and has led financing initiatives in Nigeria’s upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas sectors.

Afreximbank described Olowononi as a key figure in the bank’s strategic financing efforts, particularly in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, noting that he is “widely acknowledged as a leading subject matter expert.” The bank also highlighted his contributions to trade finance, including support for intra‑African cement trade and financing initiatives involving leading cocoa traders and processors in Ghana and Nigeria.

According to Afreximbank, Olowononi also helped implement major interventions through commercial banks, central banks and ministries of finance, assisting institutions in navigating economic challenges such as the 2018 commodity price crisis, the COVID‑19 pandemic and the effects of the Russia‑Ukraine conflict.

His appointment comes as Afreximbank continues to broaden its role in promoting trade, investment and economic development across Africa.