FEDA Appoints Emmanuel Assiak as Chief Executive Officer

 

The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the impact investment and equity subsidiary of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has announced the appointment of Emmanuel Assiak as its Chief Executive Officer.

The appointment comes as FEDA seeks to expand its investment activities across Africa, deploying long-term capital to support export development, industrialisation, and intra-African trade amid persistent capital shortages across the continent.

Assiak brings more than three decades of experience in financial services, including nearly 20 years in private equity. Throughout his career, he has led and supported investments across multiple African markets, with expertise spanning transaction structuring, capital deployment, portfolio management, value creation, and investor exits.

He has been closely involved in FEDA’s development since its establishment, serving as a pioneer director and Managing Director/Chief Investment Officer for more than six years. Prior to his appointment, he held the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer from November 2025.

During his tenure as Chief Investment Officer, Assiak played a central role in establishing FEDA’s investment platforms and building its portfolio, contributing significantly to the institution’s growth and operational development.

Before joining FEDA in 2019, he served as Vice President and Principal at African Capital Alliance and held senior positions within Nigeria’s banking sector, including roles at Zenith Bank Plc and Continental Trust Bank, now part of the United Bank for Africa Group.

Assiak holds a Master of Business Administration from Manchester Business School, a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Lagos, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Cross River State, now the University of Uyo. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and has completed executive studies in private equity at the Coller Institute, London Business School.

Established by Afreximbank, FEDA provides equity, quasi-equity, and debt financing to address the significant funding gap facing Africa’s trade and industrial sectors. The institution pursues investments across financial services, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, agribusiness, transport and logistics, consumer goods, and trade-enabling infrastructure. To date, FEDA has invested more than US$1.3 billion across various projects and companies throughout Africa.