by Yared Seyoum, Birr Metrics
The African Export–Import Bank has increased its financing limit for the Caribbean Community to US$5 billion from US$3 billion, deepening its push to expand trade and investment ties between Africa and the Caribbean.
The announcement was made at the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis. The bank said it aimed to secure full utilisation of the revised ceiling within 3 to 4 years.
The expanded commitment builds on more than US$750 million already disbursed in the region and a pipeline of over US$2 billion in transactions under execution. Financing is set to target value-added production in agriculture and natural resources, alongside infrastructure including power generation and distribution, roads, trade centres and conference facilities.
Planned projects include healthcare facilities in Barbados, Guyana and Grenada; tourism investments in Barbados, Grenada, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda; and agro-processing and logistics infrastructure across several member states. The lender is also extending credit lines and small and medium-sized enterprise on-lending facilities to banks in Suriname, St Lucia, Grenada and Dominica.
Following discussions with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the bank said it would support a regional development strategy aimed at doubling the size of the eastern Caribbean economy within a decade, with a focus on infrastructure, agriculture and processing capacity.
The institution reaffirmed plans to establish an Afreximbank African Trade Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados, and said work was underway towards creating a Caribbean Eximbank to mobilise long-term development finance. It also welcomed progress on a planned Caricom Payment and Settlement System, modelled on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System launched in 2022 to facilitate cross-border trade in local currencies.
Afreximbank, headquartered in Cairo, is a pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. Established more than 3 decades ago, it has played a central role in supporting industrialisation and regional integration, including through backing implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
As of December 2024, the bank reported total assets and contingencies of more than US$40.1 billion and shareholder funds of US$7.2 billion. It holds investment-grade ratings from agencies including GCR, Moody’s, China Chengxin International Credit Rating and Japan Credit Rating Agency. The group comprises the bank, the Fund for Export Development Africa, its equity impact investment arm, and AfrexInsure, its insurance management subsidiary.