African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has called for greater investment in regional infrastructure to accelerate industrialization and deepen intra-African trade, positioning transport corridors, payment systems and project financing as critical to unlocking Southern Africa’s manufacturing potential.
The trade finance lender made the case during the 9th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week in Durban, South Africa, where governments, development finance institutions and private sector executives met to discuss strategies for building more resilient regional value chains.
Representing Afreximbank, Peter Adeshola Olowononi, the bank’s Director of Regional Operations for Southern Africa, delivered the opening remarks and joined a high-level panel on financing regional infrastructure to unlock strategic trade corridors and speed up project delivery.
Olowononi outlined the bank’s financing and trade facilitation tools, including Project Preparation Facilities, project finance, transit guarantees, the African Trade Gateway (ATG), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), and export development initiatives, as mechanisms to help African economies move beyond raw commodity exports.
He said the initiatives are designed to support greater value addition, strengthen industrial competitiveness and promote regional economic integration by improving the infrastructure needed to facilitate cross-border trade.
The conference, held under the theme “Resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive Industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World,” brought together policymakers, development finance institutions and business leaders from across the SADC region to identify practical approaches to advancing Africa’s industrial development.
The discussions seek to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area to boost manufacturing and intra-African commerce by reducing trade barriers and investing in transport, logistics and industrial infrastructure that can support regional supply chains.
