Afreximbank challenges African banks, financial institutions on capital, cohesive market

THE African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has called on African banks, insurers, and financial institutions to rally behind citizens with viable, bankable ideas while working collectively to create a more cohesive continental market that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship.

Delivering a keynote at the official opening of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 in Algiers on Thursday, Afreximbank President and Chairman, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said Africa’s main challenge has never been a shortage of talent or creativity, but rather a lack of capital and a fragmented market that stifled ambition.

“It was not that Africa did not have kids as capable as or even better than many global giants like Bill Gates, Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs,” Oramah remarked. “What we did not have was the capital and a cohesive market to give them the audacity to dream. Gradually, and surely, that is changing,” he added.

According to him, the bank is determined to ensure that African entrepreneurs are not only listened to with respect but also given the financial and institutional support to turn their ideas into reality.

“IATF has become the rallying point where kids from the Kabylie region in Algeria, Abu-Simbel in Egypt, Kilwa Island in Tanzania, Ngomgom in Senegal, Ntabankulu in South Africa, my own small town of Nnokwa in Nigeria, and everywhere in between can present their ideas, creativity, and innovation,” Oramah said. “They can expect not only to be heard but to be supported,” he stated further.

Since its launch in 2018, the IATF has emerged as a marketplace of ideas and opportunities, with Afreximbank leveraging the platform to support projects that have transformed economies and empowered innovators.

One landmark case was Tanzania’s Rufiji Dam Project. In 2018, when international financiers and contractors rejected the $2.9 billion project, Afreximbank stepped in. Working with Egyptian contractors Arab Contractors and El-Sewedy Electric, the bank led a consortium of African financial institutions to arrange funding and guarantees. Today, the project has not only provided Tanzania with self-sufficiency in power but also reduced flooding in the Stiegler’s Gorge and paved the way for industrialisation.

Similarly, IATF 2018 provided a launchpad for Nigerian innovator Ndubisi Arinze Eze, Chief Executive Officer of Aerial Industries Pte. Ltd. Through his participation, backed by the Elumelu Foundation, Eze attracted Singaporean investors and now produces agricultural drones that are transforming farming in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America.

In 2021, the Comoros Islands secured a deal with Egypt’s El-Sewedy Group to revive its tourism industry through the Galawa Hotel Project, a five-star resort development. The deal, brokered at IATF, is already reshaping the island nation’s economy.

The 2023 edition of the trade fair also yielded transformative deals. Afreximbank signed a $450 million global credit facility with ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms Limited to expand industrial parks in six African countries, while Mauritania’s SAMAPECHE secured €12 million in financing to build a fish processing factory, expand storage by 3,000 metric tonnes, and acquire new boats.

Oramah stressed that these achievements prove what is possible when African institutions support African ideas. “We believe that we have built a platform and supporting ecosystem where young Africans who may change the way the world reads, lives, interrelates, does business, and manages health will one day emerge,” he said.

He added that the presence of Afreximbank, multilateral institutions, commercial banks, and insurance companies at IATF should remind Africans with bold, bankable ideas that “they too can dream big and expect those dreams to come true—and not end up as a pipe dream.”

By fostering a cohesive market and financing system, Oramah explained, Afreximbank is empowering Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs to create solutions that will drive economic growth, deepen regional integration, and position Africa as a major player in global innovation.

“Some green shoots are already visible, and the continent has birthed a few unicorns in recent years,” he noted. “That is why we are pleased that IATF has become the rallying point for Africa’s future game changers.”

As IATF 2025 progresses in Algiers, the message from Afreximbank is clear: Africa’s future lies not just in its natural resources, but in unlocking the ingenuity of its people—and ensuring they have the capital and market to thrive.

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