• Afreximbank urges stronger trade finance to boost Africa's growth
• Intra-African trade hit $208B in 2024, but gaps persist
• Seminar in Abidjan focuses on skills, collaboration, and value chains
  

The pan-African multilateral lender Afreximbank on Tuesday urged African financial institutions to urgently strengthen trade finance capacity and intensify collaboration to spur "inclusive and sustainable growth" across the continent.

Speaking at the opening of the 25th African Trade Finance Seminar (ATFS) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Gwen Mwaba, Afreximbank’s Director and Global Head of Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking, highlighted Africa's immense potential in minerals, hydrocarbons, and agricultural products, as well as emerging value chains in energy, metals, and logistics.

"To translate this potential into tangible outcomes, we need banks and financial institutions that are not only risk-aware but structurally proficient," Mwaba said.

She stressed that the trade finance sector, which is "built on trust, risk assessment, and liquidity," remains the "engine of trade, investment, and job creation." Professionalizing the industry, meaning well-trained bankers capable of structuring capital-intensive value chain financing aligned with local development needs and environmental standards, is central to this ambition.

Figures illustrate the urgency: Intra-African trade reached $192 billion in 2023, representing approximately 15% to 16% of the continent’s total trade, according to Afreximbank’s African Trade Report 2024. This upward trend continued in 2024, with trade between African countries hitting an estimated $208 billion, a 7.7% increase from the previous year.

However, Africa continues to face a significant trade finance gap, which some observers estimate to be around $100 billion annually.

Mwaba noted that Afreximbank has spent "more than three decades" rolling out programs and facilities aimed at regional integration, transforming trade structures, creating jobs, and mobilizing private capital.

The Abidjan seminar, running from November 4 to 6, 2025, under the theme "Strengthening Trade Finance Capabilities for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in Africa”, will be followed by a specialized workshop on factoring on November 7. It gathers government representatives, officials from the regional central bank (the Central Bank of West African States, BCEAO), and banking associations.

Such efforts at skill-building and cooperation are viewed as a key prerequisite for Africa to successfully transform its natural wealth into competitive value chains, promote employment, and reduce its reliance on external markets.