Afreximbank Lifts CARICOM Financing to US$5 Billion
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced a significant expansion of its financial commitment to the Caribbean Community, increasing its regional financing cap from US$3 billion to US$5 billion over the next three to four years.
The announcement was made by Afreximbank President George Elombi while addressing the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in Basseterre.
Dr Elombi said the enhanced financing commitment builds on more than US$750 million already disbursed across the region, alongside a strong pipeline of over US$2 billion in projects currently under execution.
He described the move as a decisive scale-up of support aimed at accelerating economic transformation across CARICOM member states.
“We will 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,” Dr Elombi said.
He outlined Afreximbank’s long-term vision to restructure Caribbean economies through investments in value addition, agro-processing and natural resource development, with the objective of creating jobs, retaining wealth locally and improving livelihoods.
According to Dr Elombi, priority interventions will include healthcare infrastructure development in Barbados, Guyana and Grenada; tourism projects in Barbados, Grenada, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda; and agro-processing and logistics facilities across several member states.
The Bank will also support infrastructure development such as power generation, road networks, conferencing facilities and trade centres in countries including Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada.
Additional initiatives include financing support for commercial banks and SMEs, promotion of local content in resource-rich countries, development of sea and air interconnectivity within the Caribbean, and expansion of the Creative Africa Nexus Programme to strengthen cultural and creative industries between Africa and the Caribbean.
Dr Elombi further confirmed Afreximbank’s commitment to establishing the Afreximbank African Trade Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados, and advancing plans for a Caribbean Eximbank to support large-scale, transformative investments in the region.
He also welcomed CARICOM’s move to adopt a regional payment and settlement system modelled on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, describing it as a major step towards deepening trade integration through low-cost, real-time cross-border payments in local currencies.
The meeting, held under the theme “Beyond Words: Action Today for a Thriving, Sustainable CARICOM”, ran from 24 to 27 February and brought together regional and international leaders. St Kitts and Nevis is also set to host the fifth Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF 2026) in July, further strengthening economic ties between Africa and the Caribbean.
