The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has committed $1 billion to financing Africa’s automotive sector as it seeks to expand local manufacturing, strengthen cross-border supply chains and reduce the continent’s reliance on imported vehicles.
The commitment was announced at the Africa Automotive Investment Forum in El Alamein, Egypt, where policymakers, automakers and component manufacturers discussed reforms and investment needed to build a more integrated African automotive industry.
Afreximbank Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development Kanayo Awani said the sector could accelerate industrialisation by creating skilled jobs, expanding manufacturing capacity and connecting African producers through regional value chains.
“Investing in the African automotive ecosystem is not merely a financing opportunity, but a strategic imperative that accelerates economic diversification and establishes Africa as a competitive player in the global industrial economy,” Awani said.
The two-day forum, held on the sidelines of the Alamein Africa Forum, brought together government officials, original equipment manufacturers and Africa-based component producers to discuss investment opportunities, technology transfers and commercial partnerships.
The push comes as industry stakeholders seek to turn the African Continental Free Trade Area into a platform for regional vehicle production, allowing manufacturers to serve a wider market rather than operate within fragmented national economies.
African vehicle demand is expected to reach 5 million by 2035, according to the figures cited at the forum. Participants said appropriate policy incentives and affordable financing would be important to attract capital, support consumer demand and expand production, including in new energy vehicles.
Awani said opportunities extend beyond vehicle assembly to components manufacturing, supported by Africa’s skills base and supplies of lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, copper, iron and steel. Afreximbank is backing the development of a pan-African manufacturing ecosystem linking vehicle producers, component suppliers and regional trade.
A joint venture agreement signed at the forum between South Africa’s Malben Engineering and Egypt’s El Araby Group provides an example of the partnerships the initiative seeks to encourage. The companies plan to establish a platform to manufacture components for Egyptian, South African and wider African markets.
The venture will combine El Araby’s industrial, engineering and technological capabilities with Malben’s more than 50 years of experience in manufacturing and forming metal automotive components, according to the statement.
Tarek Mosaad, president of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, said agreement on AfCFTA automotive rules of origin had established a foundation for greater integration, with the priority now shifting to investment, factory development and supplier networks.
“Investors are not looking at 54 separate African markets. They are looking at one integrated opportunity,” Mosaad said.
The AfCFTA Secretariat and the automotive manufacturers’ association also signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on implementing the continental automotive strategy. The agreement covers rules of origin, customs procedures, trade facilitation, standards, capacity building, supplier development, mineral beneficiation and investment mobilisation.
AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene identified three priorities: developing investment-ready projects and competitive production locations, strengthening regional supplier networks and localisation, and establishing commercially viable regional production.
The forum also saw the establishment of an Egypt-South Africa Business Council to develop bilateral trade and investment projects in sectors including automotive manufacturing, mining, renewable energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and transport infrastructure.
Delegates visited Nissan Motor Corporation, General Motors Egypt, Al Mansour Automotive and component manufacturer Mobica in 6th of October City to examine Egypt’s vehicle assembly and manufacturing base and potential opportunities for supplier development and technology transfer.
The initiatives reflect efforts to use the AfCFTA to expand manufacturing and trade within Africa as global automakers adapt to changes in mobility technology and rising interest in new energy vehicles. Their impact will depend on whether investment commitments translate into commercially viable factories, competitive local suppliers and more efficient movement of automotive products across borders.
