The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will use next month’s annual meetings to connect capital with bankable projects that support trade, industrial capacity, and regional integration, its president and board chair, George Elombi, has said.
The Cairo-headquartered financial institution will hold its 33rd annual meetings in Alamein, Egypt, from June 21 to 24, under the theme: Intra-African Trade as a Catalyst for Industrialisation and Economic Sovereignty.
In a joint media briefing with Central Bank of Egypt governor Hassan Abdalla on Wednesday, Elombi said the focus this year will be on projects that advance intra-African trade, industrialisation, and economic sovereignty.
The meetings are expected to serve as a major investment platform aimed at converting Africa’s trade and integration frameworks into concrete, bankable projects that drive industrialisation, strengthen supply chains, and deepen regional economic cooperation.
“These include transport and logistics corridors, energy systems, manufacturing platforms, digital trade infrastructure, and financial services that reduce transaction frictions. Specific transaction targets and announcements for this year’s deal room will be made at the event,” he said.
Elombi said the bank’s support for trade-enabling infrastructure, including the Dangote Refinery, the Beitbridge Border Post upgrade, and African Trade Centres such as the US$250 million AATC project in Egypt, aligns with its broader integration agenda.
He said more than 4 000 delegates are expected, including representatives from government, the private sector, financial institutions, academia, and international partners.
“On leader attendance, confirmations are progressing through the usual diplomatic and protocol channels, and official participation details will be communicated at the right time,” he said.
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Abdalla said the meetings provide a high-level platform for dialogue on Africa’s economic and financial cooperation, including trade finance, regional integration, and reforms to the global financial architecture to better reflect emerging economies.
Elombi said Africa has already built key integration frameworks, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, and the Intra-African Trade Fair.
He said the next phase must focus on turning these frameworks into production capacity, value addition, resilient supply chains, and investable projects.
