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New Africa Trade Bank boss defends sovereignty, unveils plan for factories

An illustrative photo of the new African Export-Import Bank President George Elombi.

The new president of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), George Elombi, on Saturday pledged a strategic pivot away from financing raw material exports and toward building factories and jobs within Africa, while launching a fierce defence of the lender's sovereignty against what he termed "increasingly hostile" external attacks.

In his inaugural speech after assuming office, Elombi outlined an ambitious plan focused on financing local processing zones, developing a pan-African stablecoin, and mobilising domestic capital, even as he hit out at unnamed critics for what he described as a "coordinated attack on African sovereignty."

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