Afreximbank Lifts CARICOM Financing Ceiling to US$5bn
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has raised its financing ceiling for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from US$3 billion to US$5 billion.
The announcement was made at the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, held in Basseterre, Basseterre. Addressing regional leaders, Afreximbank President, Dr Benedict Oramah, said the Bank intended to ensure full utilisation of the expanded limit within the medium term, signalling a significant intensification of its footprint in the region over the next three to four years.
“We will, therefore, increase the global limit to this region from the current US$3 billion to US$5 billion, with the hope of achieving full utilisation over the next three to four years,” he told the audience.
The expanded envelope builds on more than US$750 million already disbursed in the Caribbean and a pipeline exceeding US$2 billion in transactions currently under execution. For Ghanaian readers, the move underscores Afreximbank’s growing role not only as a continental development financier but also as a bridge between Africa and the wider Global Africa bloc.
Dr Oramah said Afreximbank’s long-term ambition in the Caribbean mirrors its strategy across Africa: transforming economic structures through value addition and industrialisation.
“The Bank’s vision for the next decade was ‘to change the structure of our economies,’” he said, adding that the focus would be on investing in processing agricultural produce and natural resources to retain more value domestically, create jobs and expand fiscal revenues.
Planned interventions span healthcare, tourism, agro-processing, logistics and core infrastructure. Healthcare facilities are to be developed in Barbados, Guyana and Grenada, while tourism projects will be supported in Barbados, Grenada, The Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda. Agro-processing and logistics investments are earmarked for Barbados, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Kitts and Nevis.
Infrastructure financing, including power generation and distribution, roads, conferencing facilities and trade centres, will extend to Grenada, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Suriname.
Afreximbank is also stepping up financial sector interventions, with plans to provide liquidity and other financing support to banks in Suriname, St Lucia, Grenada and Dominica. This includes an SME-focused on-lending facility through regional development banks, aimed at strengthening private sector participation.
In resource-rich territories, the Bank will support local content frameworks to enable domestic entrepreneurs to capture greater value from extractive and related sectors.
Additionally, it is working on a framework to enhance sea and air connectivity across the Caribbean to facilitate the movement of people, goods and investment flows, a strategy that aligns with Africa’s own push for improved intra-regional trade corridors.
Dr Oramah reaffirmed Afreximbank’s commitment to establishing the Afreximbank African Trade Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados, to consolidate its regional presence. He also confirmed that work is ongoing towards the creation of a Caribbean Eximbank to undertake large-scale investments considered critical to restructuring regional economies.
The Bank welcomed the decision by CARICOM central bank governors to proceed with a regional Payment and Settlement System, modelled on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which Afreximbank pioneered in 2022. The proposed Caribbean platform is expected to operate as a low-cost, real-time cross-border payment system in local currencies, deepening trade and financial integration.
Africa-Caribbean Corporate Links
Dr Oramah disclosed that Afreximbank is facilitating the entry of African corporates into the Caribbean market. Institutions and firms including Access Bank, Oando and Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms are exploring or establishing a presence in the region. Arise IIP, he said, is assessing opportunities to develop special economic zones in selected Caribbean states.
For Ghanaian businesses, the deepening Africa-Caribbean corridor presents emerging opportunities in trade finance, project development, creative industries and industrial partnerships.
St Kitts and Nevis is scheduled to host the fifth Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF 2026) in July, an event expected to convene policymakers, investors and businesses from across the Global Africa community for deal-making and cultural exchange.
The latest financing expansion comes as CARICOM leaders pursue a regional development strategy aimed at doubling the size of their economies within a decade, an ambition Afreximbank has pledged to support through sustained capital deployment and institutional collaboration.
