Africa will only achieve economic sovereignty by industrialising, processing its own resources and securing affordable financing for its development priorities, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) President and Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. George Elombi said on Friday.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Elombi said the continent can no longer rely on exporting raw materials while importing finished products, arguing that future growth must be driven by manufacturing, value addition, regional trade and stronger African financial institutions.
“Africa’s sovereignty will not be secured by exporting more of what we do not process,” Elombi said. It will be secured when we build the industries that turn African resources into African value,” he noted.
He said industrialisation requires access to capital on fair terms and called for credit assessments that accurately reflect the strength of African financial institutions.
“Fair credit assessment is part of Africa’s sovereignty agenda,” he said, adding that more accurate ratings would enable African institutions to raise funds at lower cost and expand financing for trade, infrastructure and industry.
Elombi said Afreximbank is supporting Africa’s industrialisation through debt financing, its equity investment arm, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), and partnerships including with industrial developer ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP).
He added that the bank is financing industrial parks and special economic zones focused on minerals processing, agro-processing, automotive manufacturing, textiles and pharmaceuticals, with the aim of creating regional manufacturing hubs and strengthening supply chains across the continent.
Elombi cited Afreximbank’s recent investment-grade rating from S&P Global Ratings, which assigned the lender a BBB+ long-term and A-2 short-term issuer credit rating, as evidence that African institutions should be assessed based on their financial strength and institutional structure.
He said the rating followed first-quarter 2026 results that showed total assets and contingencies of USD49.4 billion, shareholders’ funds of USD8.6 billion, a capital adequacy ratio of 23% and a non-performing loan ratio of 2.4%.
The chairman said rating agencies should fully recognise Afreximbank’s treaty-based status, preferred creditor status, shareholder backing and role in financing African trade.
Despite global economic uncertainty, the bank had continued to attract investor interest, he said, citing successful Samurai and Panda bond issuances and a USD2 billion equivalent dual-tranche syndicated loan raised in the first quarter of 2026 from 31 lenders across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Elombi said industrialisation will only succeed if African goods can move more freely across the continent, adding that Afreximbank will continue financing trade infrastructure, payment systems, logistics corridors and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He also backed proposals for a New African Financial Architecture, saying Africa needs stronger mechanisms to mobilise domestic resources to finance its own development.
Looking ahead, Elombi said the bank will continue investing in industrial capacity, value addition, strategic minerals processing, trade infrastructure, digital payment systems, energy security and intra-African trade.
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