Afreximbank investment arm FEDA names Emmanuel Assiak chief executive

The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the equity investment arm of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), announced on 2 June 2026 that Emmanuel Assiak had been appointed chief executive officer. The board said the appointment took effect on 15 December 2025, a distinction from the later date on which the announcement was circulated.

Assiak had already been closely involved in the investment institution’s development, serving for more than six years as a founding director and managing director or chief investment officer. He had also held the position of interim chief executive since November 2025.

According to the announcement, he brings more than 30 years of financial-services experience, including approximately two decades in private equity. His background includes sourcing and structuring investments, working on corporate boards and managing investments and exits across African markets.

Before joining FEDA in 2019, Assiak worked at African Capital Alliance, a pan-African investment group, and held positions at Zenith Bank and Continental Trust Bank, which later became part of United Bank for Africa. FEDA said he would be based in Kigali, Rwanda.

The institution’s mandate is to invest equity capital in businesses that can support African exports, industrial development and value addition. That role differs from a conventional loan programme: equity investors take ownership interests and remain exposed to business performance and the timing and value of eventual exits.

Afreximbank and FEDA chairman George Elombi described the appointment as an opportunity to deepen the institution’s support for export-oriented industries. The board’s announcement did not attach a new investment commitment or fundraising total to Assiak’s appointment.

The June disclosure therefore records a leadership decision that became effective in December 2025. FEDA’s future deployments and portfolio performance should be evaluated through subsequent investment announcements and financial reporting.

Source: Fund for Export Development in Africa and Afreximbank, 2 June 2026 announcement. Featured image: official Afreximbank file portrait of Emmanuel Assiak, not a photograph from the appointment announcement.