Mrs. Kanayo Awani is the Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nigeria and a Master of Public Administration in International Trade and Finance from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, USA and a recipient of the Edward S. Mason Fellowship in Public Policy and Management from Harvard.

She has garnered extensive banking experience with Citigroup in Nigeria, serving for nearly 17 years and leaving as the Vice President and Head of Industrial & Commercial Corporates before joining Afreximbank in 2009. As the Executive Vice President, she provides strategic and operational leadership in implementing the Bank's Intra-African trade, industrialization and export development objectives, in support of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Her leadership and contribution to the continent’s banking and trade finance landscape has received global recognition with several awards including, Top 100 Most Influential Person of African Descent by MIPAD, 2020; Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) Woman Leader Award, 2022; Forbes Afrique’s list of “The 50 Most Influential African Women,” 2023; Africa Inspirational Personality of the Year by the Africa Women Impact Summit (AWIS), 2023; African Diaspora Advisory Board (ADAB) Global Woman Award in Washington, D.C. (2024); and recognised among Africa’s Most Impactful Women by ARISE News (2025).

She also serves on the Executive Committee of FCI (the global association body for

Factoring Open Account and Trade Receivables).