Kanayo Honored With The African Diaspora Advisory Board Global Award
Kanayo Awani, the Executive Vice President of the Intra-African Trade Bank at Afreximbank, has been honored with the African Diaspora Advisory Board (ADAB) Global Woman Award in Washington, D.C. This prestigious award recognizes Mrs. Awani’s commitment, visionary leadership, and significant impact in promoting trade within Africa.
The Global Woman Award celebrates exceptional women of African descent who have made remarkable contributions to global communities. It acknowledges their outstanding achievements, leadership, and positive influence in empowering and inspiring the African diaspora and beyond. This award serves as a testament to the resilience, innovation, and global influence of these remarkable women.
During the award ceremony, Mrs. Awani expressed her gratitude and acknowledged Afreximbank’s unwavering dedication to Africa. She emphasized the bank’s belief that intra-African trade and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) present an opportunity for Africa to overcome the economic fragmentation caused by colonial strategies.
Mrs. Awani lamented the fact that despite Africa’s abundant resources, the continent has been exporting jobs and relinquishing its development ambitions to others. She reaffirmed Afreximbank’s commitment to rectifying this situation and ensuring that Africa takes control of its own development.
She further highlighted the disparity between Africa’s population, which accounts for 18% of the world’s population, and its share of global trade, which stands at only 3%. Mrs. Awani also emphasized the need for increased trade within Africa itself, as well as the importance of facilitating direct payments for goods and services among African nations.
In conclusion, Mrs. Awani’s receipt of the Global Woman Award recognizes her exceptional contributions to promoting intra-African trade and her dedication to empowering Africa’s development.
Afreximbank has been actively supporting intra-African trade and the implementation of the AfCFTA, providing approximately US$40 billion in assistance for trade and investments since 2016. The bank recognizes the importance of a unified global African community in uplifting and empowering individuals of African descent worldwide.
In line with this, Afreximbank has expanded its definition of intra-African trade to include not only commerce between African nations but also trade involving Africans globally. As part of its Diaspora strategy, the bank has established the Afreximbank Africa Diaspora Center in partnership with the Africa Center in New York.
Additionally, 11 Caribbean Community Member States have joined the bank as Participating Member States, and a regional office has been opened in Barbados to cater to the Caribbean region. While progress has been made, there is still much to be done to fully leverage the potential of Global African trade.
Mrs. Awani, an Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, emphasizes the need for continued advocacy for policies that support entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment. She also highlights the importance of empowering women to actively participate in trade and ensuring their equal access to resources and opportunities.
Furthermore, Mrs. Awani has been recognized as a “Titan of Industry” by the Canada-based African Union Sixth Region Global (AU6RG) for her exceptional contributions and achievements at Afreximbank. Her leadership has been instrumental in driving economic development initiatives that have elevated the bank to new heights and positively impacted the global economic landscape.
