- Afreximbank is scaling intra-African trade financing to $40bn by 2026 and backing industrial champions through INTRA-CHAMPS and EPC initiatives.
- The bank is deploying the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund and pushing quality and policy reforms to ensure all countries benefit from the single market.
Afreximbank has reaffirmed its commitment to boosting intra-African trade, industrialisation, and value-chain development under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The bank pledged stronger trade-financing instruments and policy support to ensure all African countries benefit from the continental single market.
Dr. Gainmore Zanamwe, Afreximbank’s Director of Trade Facilitation and Investment Promotion, made the remarks on Monday, November 24, at the AfCFTA Public Sector, Private Sector, and Press Summit in Abuja. He also said the bank has developed innovative financing tools to unlock trade and investment flows across Africa. Between 2017 and 2021, Afreximbank disbursed $20 billion in support of intra-African trade, aiming to double this to $40 billion by 2026.
Meanwhile, Zanamwe highlighted two flagship initiatives: the INTRA-CHAMPS programme and the Engineer, Procure, and Contract Initiative. These initiatives also provide financing, risk guarantees, advisory services, and ecosystem support to African companies scaling across borders. He cited ElSewedy Electric and the Dangote Group as success stories that have benefited from these interventions.
The bank also established the $1 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund to help countries adjust to the liberalised trade regime. Of this, $100 million has been allocated to a Credit Fund for commercial projects, and $10 million to a Base Fund supporting policy reforms. In addition, the Credit Fund has already disbursed $10 million.
Furthermore, Zanamwe emphasised that Afreximbank’s support encompasses trade standards, quality assurance, and export competitiveness, underscoring Nigeria’s need to enact the National Quality and Food Safety Bill. He described AfCFTA as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for Africa to industrialise, scale production, and build regional prosperity.
He urged governments, regulators, and private-sector players to maintain momentum, saying, “The AfCFTA is Africa’s pathway to economic transformation. It will take collective commitment, bold reforms, and strategic investments to unlock its full promise.”