Jean-Louis EKRA currently sits on the Board of several institutions including Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and Globeleq (a multinational developing power generation projects in Africa).

He was until September 2015 President and Chairman of the Board of the African ExportImport Bank (Afreximbank or the Bank) in Cairo – Egypt. He assumed this role in January 2005 after holding successively the positions of Executive Vice-President and Senior Executive Vice-President of the Bank. Under his leadership, the Bank was assigned an investment grade credit rating by 3 major international rating agencies (Fitch, Moody’s and S&P) and won many awards and Prizes for excellence given by various reputable organizations.

Before joining Afreximbank in 1996, he held senior positions in different institutions including: Vice-President in charge of International Financial Institutions at Citibank NA; Managing Director of Société Ivoirienne de la Poste et de l’Epargne (SIPE) which was the national Post and Savings institution of Côte d’Ivoire; Country Manager for the West African Economic & Monetary Union (UEMOA) region at Meridien BIAO sa. (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire) and Partner at DKS Investment, a financial advisory firm in Jersey. He was for 4 years elected Honorary President of the Global Network of Exim Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID). He was, in 2016, awarded the honor of Commandeur de l'Ordre National of Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Stern School of Business – New York University (NYU) and a Maîtrise en Sciences Economiques from University of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

In 2011, Jean-Louis EKRA was listed among the 100 most influential people of Africa by ‘’New African’’, a leading pan-African publication. In 2013, he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from “African Bankers”.