Jean-Louis EKRA
“African economies should get away from exporting the usual commodities that have prevailed on the continent over the last years. Africa should start also producing finished products which can be exported abroad…”
Jean-Louis EKRA
Managing Director
Ayipling Morrison Capital
“The potential of African economies for trade is limited because of a lack of diversification and competitiveness and while we continue to mostly export commodities, trade is increasingly dominated by manufactured goods. Hence, enhancing the integration of Africa into the global economy will depend on the speed of diversification.”
Jean-Louis EKRA currently sits on the Board of several institutions including Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Bank of China (designated as a Global Systemically Important Bank) and the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA). He is also the current Vice Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) a joint initiative of the African Union (AU) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to promote intra-African trade through the organisation trade fairs so as to fast track the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). He was an Independent Board Member of Globeleq for several years. Mr. EKRA is the founder of Ayipling Morrison Capital, a venture capital and financial advisory firm.
He was until September 2015 President and Chairman of the Board of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank or the Bank) in Cairo – Egypt. He assumed this role in January 2005 after holding successively the positions of Executive Vice-President and Senior Executive Vice-President of the Bank. Under his leadership, the Bank was assigned an investment grade credit rating by 3 major international rating agencies (Fitch, Moody’s and S&P) and won many awards and Prizes for excellence given by various reputable organizations.
Before joining Afreximbank in 1996, he held senior positions in different institutions including: Vice-President in charge of International Financial Institutions at Citibank NA; Managing Director of Société Ivoirienne de la Poste et de l’Epargne (SIPE) which was the national Postal and Savings institution of Côte d’Ivoire; Country Manager for the West African Economic & Monetary Union (UEMOA) region at Meridien BIAO sa. (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire) and Partner at DKS Investment, a financial advisory firm in Jersey. He was, for 4 years, elected Honorary President of the Global Network of Exim Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID). In 2016, he was, awarded the honour of Commandeur de l’Ordre National of Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Stern School of Business – New York University (NYU) and a Maîtrise en Sciences Economiques from University of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
In 2011, Jean-Louis EKRA was listed among the 100 most influential people of Africa by ‘’New African’’, a leading pan-African publication. In 2013, he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from “African Bankers”.
