The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced a major expansion of its engagement with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), increasing its regional financing limit from US$3bn to US$5bn over the next three to four years.

The enhanced commitment builds on more than US$750m already disbursed across the region and a pipeline of over US$2bn in transactions currently under execution, signalling a scale-up of support to governments and the private sector.

Addressing the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis, on February 25, Afreximbank President Dr Benedict Oramah Elombi said the bank’s aim in the years ahead was to significantly expand support to the region.
“We will, therefore, increase the global limit to this region from the current US$3bn to US$5bn, with the hope of achieving full utilisation over the next three to four years,” he said.

Elombi outlined a 10-year vision focused on transforming the structure of Caribbean economies through value addition and processing of agricultural outputs and natural resources.
“We aim to retain significant value from these resources in our economies, generate wealth for our people, create jobs, and improve their livelihoods, with spillover impacts on government revenues and investments,” he said.

Among the planned interventions are healthcare facility development in Barbados, Guyana and Grenada; tourism projects in Barbados, Grenada, The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda; and agro-processing and logistics facilities in Barbados, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis.

Infrastructure development — including power generation and distribution, road projects, conferencing facilities and trade centres — is also planned for Grenada, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Suriname.

Dr Elombi said the bank would provide financing support for banks in Suriname, Saint Lucia, Grenada and Dominica, including an SME-focused on-lending facility to development banks.

It will also promote local content participation in natural resource-rich countries, work on a framework to improve sea and air interconnectivity across the Caribbean, and expand the Creative Africa Nexus Programme to strengthen trade in cultural and creative industries between Africa and the Caribbean.

Following a meeting with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Afreximbank agreed to support a regional development strategy aimed at doubling the size of the economy within a decade through investments in infrastructure, energy and agricultural production and processing.

Elombi said the bank was already working with African entities including Access Bank, Oando and Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms to establish a presence in the Caribbean. Arise IIP is exploring the creation of special economic zones in several countries.

He also reaffirmed Afreximbank’s commitment to developing the Afreximbank African Trade Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados, and said the bank would continue efforts towards establishing a Caribbean Eximbank to undertake major investments necessary to transform regional economies.

Elombi welcomed the decision of the Committee of CARICOM Central Bank Governors to proceed with the CARICOM Payment and Settlement System, modelled on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System pioneered by Afreximbank in 2022, describing it as a low-cost, real-time cross-border payment system in local currencies that would deepen regional trade and integration.

The meeting, held under the theme “Beyond Words: Action Today for a Thriving, Sustainable CARICOM”, ran from February 24 to 27 and featured addresses from regional leaders, Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, and Adel al-Jubeir.

St Kitts and Nevis is set to host the fifth Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2026) in July, bringing together representatives from across Global Africa for panel discussions, business matchmaking sessions, cultural showcases and deal signings.