Africa must strengthen its ownership and capitalization of the financial institutions created to fund the continent’s economic development, Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board of Directors George Elombi said, as the bank pushes for a stronger African-led financial architecture.
Speaking at the opening of the Alamein Africa Forum 2026 in New Alamein, Egypt, Elombi said African countries need to mobilise more of their own resources and defend institutions designed to finance the continent’s trade, businesses and infrastructure.
Afreximbank, established in 1993 during Africa’s debt crisis, was created to intervene when other sources of finance hesitate, according to Elombi. More than three decades later, he said, that mandate remains relevant as African economies confront new financing pressures.
The bank has responded to major economic shocks by supporting trade and vaccine procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic and deploying about $4 billion during the Ukraine-related food and energy crisis.
This year, Afreximbank also approved a $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme, underscoring the growing role of African financial institutions in responding to disruptions that affect the continent’s economies.
The bank’s shareholders’ funds now stand at almost $9 billion, backed by African shareholders that have continued to provide capital despite periods of fiscal pressure, Elombi said.
The figures highlight the importance of capital strength for institutions expected to provide financing when commercial lenders or international markets become less willing to take risks.
Elombi argued that Africa’s development financing needs require institutions with sufficient balance-sheet capacity to finance trade, businesses and infrastructure at scale rather than relying predominantly on external sources of capital.
A stronger African financial architecture would also give the continent greater capacity to respond to economic shocks and deploy financing according to its own development priorities.
“We are not asking to be judged kindly. We are asking to be judged accurately,” Elombi said.
Thirty-three years after Afreximbank was created, Elombi said its original mandate remains unchanged, when Africa needs its bank, the institution must be able to respond.
