Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider.
AFC announced the appointment in a statement on Wednesday. Cardoso succeeds Ireti Samuel-Ogbu, who led the board during her tenure and remains a member.
The Corporation said Cardoso brings wide experience in international banking, investment management, economic policy and public sector leadership.
Since becoming CBN Governor in September 2023, he has driven reforms in the monetary and financial sectors aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening policy credibility and rebuilding investor confidence in Nigeria’s economy.
AFC noted that under his watch, the CBN has overhauled the foreign exchange market, cleared longstanding foreign exchange obligations, improved monetary policy transmission and strengthened governance and transparency.
The bank has also concluded a recapitalisation programme meant to make the banking sector more resilient and better able to support sustainable growth.
Before joining the CBN, Cardoso spent 12 years as Chairman of Citibank Nigeria and served as Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget.
He holds a degree from Aston University in the United Kingdom and a master’s in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School, where he also sat on the Alumni Board.
AFC said his experience in financial sector reform, institutional governance and capital markets will inform its strategy as it mobilises investment to close Africa’s infrastructure gap, speed up industrialisation and deepen regional integration.
AFC President and CEO, Samaila Zubairu, said the Corporation was delighted to welcome Cardoso.
“He shares our conviction that Africa’s lasting stability depends on its productive capacity,” Zubairu said, adding that his leadership will help advance The Africa We Build 2050 agenda. He also thanked Samuel-Ogbu for her dedication and contribution.
Cardoso said: “A more productive Africa is a more stable Africa.” He expressed readiness to work with the board, management and member states, stressing that success should be measured by the productive capacity created, the industries enabled and the jobs supported.
AFC’s recent milestones include financial close on the US753 million Lobito Corridor Railway Project in Angola, covering the rehabilitation, upgradeandlong-termoperationofa1,300-kilometrebrownfieldrailcorridor.
It is also backing a US600 million facility for Dangote Group’s US7billion fertiliser expansion programme in Nigeria and has committed a combined US300 million with Vision Invest to WIOCC Group to expand digital infrastructure across the continent.
