Kanayo Awani, the managing director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative Division, has been named one of Nigeria’s top 100 women leaders.

Her inclusion in the list published in the 2022 edition of Nigeria Women Annual 100 leading women is believed to have been occasioned by her illustrious career and services to Nigeria and Africa.

Ms Awani, who is currently in charge of the bank’s intra-African trade and industrialisation strategies, led Afreximbank’s engagement in support of the establishment and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).

She was also the driving force behind the introduction and organisation of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), which has resulted in trade and investment deals worth more than $70 billion.

From 2009 until 2016, she oversaw Afreximbank’s Trade Finance and Branches Department, which grew to become the bank’s most lucrative department, accounting for over 80 per cent of the bank’s loan book.

Ms Awani is also the chairperson of the Africa Chapter of Factors Chain International (FCI), a global factoring association.

The listing is a gender-specific biographical compilation that speaks to the current gender imbalances in Nigeria’s biographical documentation and leadership, focusing in 2022 on the most inspirational and significant women whose work shaped Nigeria’s collective history throughout the year.