Structured trade finance (STF) is a highly specialized area of trade finance that has evolved directly from practice. As it grows and becomes more complex in an increasingly risk-based regulatory environment, there is a pressing need for detailed guidance on the subject.

Now in its second edition, Foundations of Structured Trade Finance provides exactly this. Written by Professor Benedict O. Oramah, president of Afreximbank and a key figure in the evolution of STF, this book delves into the philosophical foundations and risks associated with structured trade finance. It offers step-by-step guidance on structuring deals, explores the scope of coverage beyond commodities, and examines real-life case studies to draw valuable lessons.

The new edition has been revised and updated, featuring brand new sections on reserve-based lending, supply chain finance, and new technologies for implementing structured trade finance.

Professor Benedict Okechukwu (Okey) Oramah is the president and chairman of the board of directors of African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), a position he was appointed to in 2015. Prior to his current role, he served in several positions at the Bank, including as executive vice president for business development and corporate banking and senior director.
He was born in Ahoada, Rivers state, Nigeria on 24 July 1961 and attended Merchants of Light School, Oba in Anambra state, Nigeria, where he earned a distinction in the West African School Certificate Examination in 1978. He also studied at the University of Ibadan, from 1978 to 1983, where he graduated with Second Class Honors (Upper Division) in Agricultural Economics and was a United Africa Company of Nigeria (UAC) scholar at the University. He obtained a Master of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics in 1987 and a PhD Degree in the same discipline in 1991 from Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Professor Oramah was a postgraduate fellow at the same university. He also obtained an Advanced Management Certificate from the Columbia Business School, USA in 2015, and in 2018 he became a professor of international trade and finance at Adeleke University, Nigeria. In December 2019, he obtained an Honorary Doctor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Development Economics, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration, and a Fellow of the Institute of International Affairs.
As one of the thought leaders in the theory and practice of Structured Trade Finance, he authored the book titled Foundations of Structured Trade Finance, which was published in 2015.
He led the development of a banking software for the efficient implementation of Structured Trade Finance. In addition, Professor Oramah co-authored a book titled Export Credit Arrangements in Capital Scarce Developing Countries, published by Springer, which was released in April 2025. Excerpts from this book were published in Wiley Blackwell’s Handbook on Global Trade Policy in 2019. In 2017, Professor Oramah wrote a short book titled A Path to Making Africa Great Again, jointly published by New York University and Afreximbank. He recently contributed a chapter titled “Public Policy, Export Credit and International Trade” in the book titled Public Policy and Agent Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World, published by Bookcraft, Nigeria. He has also authored over 40 professional/scholarly articles on a wide range of African economic, trade, and trade finance issues, including a recently published paper titled “Globalization and the Recent Trade Wars: Linkages and Lessons” in the Wiley Global Policy Journal released in 2019 and “Transiting to green growth in fossil export-dependent economies: A pathway for Africa”, in the Global Policy by Wiley Blackwell. Professor Oramah has also delivered several lectures and many thematic speeches and presentations.
Under Professor Oramah’s leadership, Afreximbank has seen significant growth in many spheres. Total assets and guarantees rose from US$5 billion in 2014 to over US$40 billion in December 2024. Net income also rose from US$105 million to almost a billion US dollars between the two periods. Afreximbank saw its state membership rise from 37 to 54 in Africa during the period. Twelve Caribbean states have also joined through a partnership treaty, expanding the footprint of the Bank beyond the African continent to incorporate the larger Global Africa.
Professor Oramah serves on the Board of Directors of a number of organizations. He chairs the Board of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), and the Africa Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE). He is also a member of the board of the Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa (SDGA), Practitioners Advisory Board of the Institute for Trade and Innovation (IfTI) of Offenburg University, Gengenbach, Germany, a Member of the Emerging Markets Advisory Council of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a Board Member of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), and a member of the Consultative Board on the World Cocoa Economy of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of African Trade (JAT). Professor Oramah also chairs the Executive Committee of Arab-Africa Trade Bridges and is a member of the Board of Directors of Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and a member of the governing board of the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI), among others.
Professor Oramah has won several awards, including the 2017 and 2022 Banker of the Year Award of the African Banker, and the Africa House Leadership Award of New York University (2018). In recognition of his immense contributions to African trade and development, Professor Oramah has also received numerous accolades, including national honors from the governments of Cameroon, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, and the Russian Federation. He has been recognized among the 100 most influential Africans in several editions of New Africa and Jeune Afriquemagazines.
He is married with three children.