Staff Writer
South Africa has formally acceded to the Establishment Agreement of the African Export-Import Bank, marking its official entry into the Bank’s membership.
The move follows the South African Parliament’s approval of the accession in 2025 and confirms a strategic partnership between the country and Afreximbank.
South Africa becomes the 54th state to join the bank, strengthening cooperation aimed at expanding trade and investment across the continent.
To activate the partnership, Afreximbank will roll out major financial support in South Africa.
This includes a new US$8 billion country programme aimed at supporting economic growth. The programme focuses on industrial development, stronger regional supply chains and increased intra-African trade and investment. The support aligns with South Africa’s economic priorities.
South Africa is the continent’s largest regional contributor to intra-African trade, accounting for 19.1% of Africa’s total trade in 2024.
This position allows the country to use Afreximbank’s trade finance tools, expertise and continental reach to expand its export links across Africa.
Afreximbank president and chairman of the board of directors Dr George Elombi described South Africa’s accession as a key step.
“This affirmation of the membership of South Africa in Afreximbank marks a decisive step towards uniting around the continent’s economic interests, the interests of our mother continent,” he said.
Elombi said Afreximbank’s current pipeline of projects in South Africa exceeds US$6 billion and covers sectors such as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, energy, industrial development and mining.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the partnership would support both national and continental goals.
“For more than 30 years, Afreximbank has demonstrated its own ability, its resilience, and its innovative capability, but it has more than that; it has demonstrated that it has impact. This partnership will strengthen in more ways than one South Africa’s ability to support South African exporters, industrial projects and regional value chains while advancing our continent’s progress,” he said.
Afreximbank is a strong supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
The Bank has rolled out the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, which the African Union adopted to support AfCFTA implementation.
Afreximbank has also set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund, working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, to help countries participate effectively in the free trade area.
Caption
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the president and chairman of Afreximbank at the accession signing ceremony, marking the launch of a major country programme to support the South African economy.
- Photo: Afreximbank
