Afreximbank Appoints Peter Adeshola Olowononi as Southern Africa Regional Operations Director

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has appointed Peter Adeshola Olowononi as the Director of Regional Operations for Southern Africa, effective May 1.
Olowononi takes over from Humphrey Nwugo, who has been reassigned to lead a similar role in East Africa.
The Southern Africa region, one of Afreximbank’s key operational zones, comprises 13 countries – Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia – with the regional office located in Zimbabwe.
Before his new appointment, Olowononi served as Afreximbank’s Director of Client Relations for Anglophone West Africa, overseeing operations across Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, São Tomé and Príncipe and Cape Verde.
In that capacity, he managed risk assets valued at over US$12 billion and contributed to revenue generation exceeding US$1 billion. He also played a significant role in growing Afreximbank’s Anglophone West Africa balance sheet by more than US$10 billion between 2015 and 2025.
Olowononi was involved in financing some of the region’s major industrial and infrastructure projects, including the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, fertiliser plants and the expansion of the Federal Ocean Terminal in Onne.
He also supported critical healthcare and road infrastructure projects in Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, while leading financing initiatives across Nigeria’s upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas sectors.
Afreximbank described him 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 further highlighted his contributions to trade finance, including support for intra-African trade in cement 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 expand its role in promoting trade, investment and economic development across Africa.