The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has appointed Humphrey Nwugo as regional chief operating officer for its Harare-based Southern Africa regional office.

Nwugo had been serving in an acting capacity in that position since February 2018. He joined the bank in January 2010 as manager of banking operations. From 2011 he was senior manager of syndications at the bank’s Cairo headquarters.

His previous experience includes stints at Intercontinental Bank, Zenith Bank and Citizens International Bank in Lagos.

At Afreximbank, Nwugo is responsible for driving the bank’s business development activities in trade projects and export development finance at the regional level in Southern Africa. His role includes managing the bank’s operations in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In September 2017 Afreximbank announced a number of new initiatives in Zimbabwe, which saw it expand its operations in the country and across Southern Africa.

Among the plans was the permanent regional office for Southern Africa in Harare with an integrated one-stop trade services shop, complete with a trade information centre, corporate rental office space for trade promoting bodies, export credit agencies and commercial banks, an innovation and incubation hub for small businesses, and shops and restaurants.

“The project, when completed, will transform Zimbabwe into an intra-African trade hub, a centre of knowledge and information about markets, and a centre where major deals can be struck,” Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah said at the time.

Zimbabwe is Afreximbank’s third largest shareholder.