By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.

As geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty continue to squeeze African economies, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has called on African leaders to accelerate industrialization and deepen intra-African trade as the continent prepares for the 33rd Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM 2026) in Egypt.

The four-day summit, scheduled for June 21 to 24, is expected to attract more than 4,000 delegates, including African presidents, central bank governors, policymakers, investors, financiers and business leaders, amid growing pressure on African economies to reduce dependence on external markets and commodity exports.

Speaking at a media briefing ahead of the meetings, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank, Dr. George Elombi, declared that Africa’s future growth would depend on stronger regional trade ties, industrial processing and economic integration across the continent.

“The message is simple: Africa’s next phase of growth must be driven by intra-African trade, by industrial processing and by greater economic integration amongst our countries,” Elombi said.

He noted that frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System had already laid the groundwork for deeper integration, stressing that the focus must now shift to translating those initiatives into tangible economic gains.

Elombi also disclosed that Afreximbank was intensifying collaboration with African central banks to strengthen trade financing, industrialization and financial system resilience as countries across the continent grapple with tightening global financial conditions and declining access to international capital.

According to him, central banks have become a major pillar of the bank’s development strategy, with many African countries joining Afreximbank through their monetary authorities. He added that the lender is now extending cooperation beyond national institutions to regional central banking systems in a bid to strengthen liquidity support and banking stability across multiple economies.

As part of the regional expansion drive, Elombi revealed that Afreximbank already operates a $5 billion programme with the Central Bank of West African States aimed at supporting commercial banks and improving access to trade and development financing within West Africa.

He added that the bank was also strengthening ties with the Bank of Central African States to build stronger regional financial institutions capable of supporting intra-African trade and economic integration.

Elombi further disclosed that Afreximbank was championing initiatives designed to dismantle cross-border trade barriers, including the Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme intended to reduce customs bottlenecks and improve the movement of goods across African borders.

“The key discussion would be around how Africa readjusts its own trade direction and its own trade patterns,” Elombi said. “When the world closes itself to us, we cannot close ourselves off from one another.”

He stressed that expanding trade within Africa would require massive investment in transportation, logistics and energy infrastructure to support manufacturing and regional supply chains.

The Afreximbank president also pointed to untapped opportunities in mineral processing, noting that despite the continent’s vast natural resource wealth, most African countries still lacked adequate processing capacity outside nations such as South Africa and Morocco.

“The money is available, what we need is the expertise and the determination of governments to direct in what areas to put the investment,” he said.

Despite prevailing global economic headwinds, Elombi maintained that Afreximbank remained financially strong, revealing that the institution’s total assets had risen to $49.4 billion while shareholders’ funds stood at approximately $8.6 billion.

He added that the bank maintained a capital adequacy ratio of 23 per cent and a non-performing loans ratio of 2.4 per cent.
“So we have a strong bank,” Elombi said.

“Investor confidence has remained very strong in Afreximbank and we believe that will be the case even in this difficult year of 2026.”

Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, Hassan Abdalla, described Egypt’s partnership with Afreximbank as strategic to Africa’s economic transformation agenda.

According to him, Afreximbank has emerged as one of the continent’s most influential financial institutions, driving trade, industrialization and regional cooperation.

“Over the years, Afreximbank has established itself as one of the continent’s most impactful financial institutions and a key driver for Africa’s transformation,” Abdalla said.

He noted that African economies were increasingly shifting towards diversification and resilience as governments seek to unlock more value from natural resources and strengthen productive sectors.

Abdalla added that the annual meetings would provide a key platform for discussions on trade finance, regional integration and reforms to the global financial system to better reflect the interests of developing economies.

He confirmed that preparations for the meetings were progressing rapidly through coordination among the Central Bank of Egypt, Afreximbank and other national authorities, with logistics, security and technical arrangements already underway.
“We do not view the Afreximbank annual meetings as merely a conference,” Abdalla said.

“We consider it a strategic milestone in our collective journey towards building a more integrated, industrialised, resilient and economically sovereign African continent.”