African Export–Import Bank, also referred to as Afreximbank, is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created in 1993 under the auspices of the African Development Bank. It is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) board of directors has approved the opening of the bank’s CARICOM office to be established in Barbados.

Afreximbank CARICOM office will support the implementation of the Partnership Agreement, entered into by, and between, Afreximbank and CARICOM Member States aimed at expanding Africa-Caribbean trade and investment relations.

Ten out of the 15 CARICOM Member States have signed the Agreement, which confers upon the signatories the status akin to those held by the Africa Participating States. It consolidates the bank’s efforts to promote and develop South-South trade, specifically trade between Africa and the Caribbean, in line with its Diaspora Strategy and African Union’s designation of the African Diaspora as Africa’s sixth region.

Following the establishment of the Partnership Agreement, US$1.5 billion in credit limit was approved by the board of directors of Afreximbank to support eligible CARICOM States, with a commitment to increase this to US$3 billion. The financing will be targeted at supporting economic sectors identified as core to boosting the region’s prosperity, particularly the development of trade-enabling infrastructure, as well as boosting trade and investments between Africa and the CARICOM Member States while providing support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s).

Professor Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of the board of directors of Afreximbank, said:

“I am delighted to announce this important milestone as we forge closer ties with our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean. There are enormous opportunities to scale the trade and investment flows between the African continent and the broader African diaspora. Investment flows between Africa and the Caribbean are currently almost non-existent. This strategic partnership will open the door for enhanced trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean. We are poised to right the wrongs of the middle passage. This approval is an important step towards that end.”