JOHANNESBURG, Feb 4 – South Africa has formally joined the African Export-Import Bank, becoming the 54th country to accede to the institution’s Establishment Agreement and marking a major expansion of the lender’s continental footprint.
The accession follows parliamentary approval granted in 2025 and brings one of Africa’s largest and most industrialised economies into Afreximbank’s membership at a time of shifting global trade dynamics and rising protectionism. The move is intended to strengthen Africa’s financial autonomy and deepen regional economic integration.
To operationalise the partnership, Afreximbank announced a new $8 billion country programme for South Africa. The financing package is designed to support industrial development, expand regional supply chains, and accelerate intra-African trade and investment flows, in line with South Africa’s national development and industrial priorities.
South Africa is currently the continent’s largest contributor to intra-African trade, accounting for 19.1 percent of total trade volumes in 2024. Afreximbank said the country is well positioned to leverage the bank’s trade infrastructure, financing tools, and pan-African reach to expand exports across the continent.
Afreximbank President and Chairman George Elombi described South Africa’s accession as a decisive step toward advancing Africa’s shared economic interests. He said the $8 billion programme, developed in collaboration with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, aligns with South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030 and targets strategic sectors critical to long-term growth.
Elombi added that Afreximbank’s current project pipeline in South Africa exceeds $6 billion, spanning healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, energy, mining, and industrial development.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the accession marked a milestone in Africa’s economic integration and reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to continental industrialisation, trade, and investment. He said the country programme would initially support strategic projects across trade and industrial clusters, including funding for South Africa’s Transformation Fund to support black-owned businesses historically excluded from the economy.
Ramaphosa noted that Afreximbank’s three-decade track record of resilience and innovation positions it as a key partner in strengthening South Africa’s exporters, industrial projects, and regional value chains while advancing Africa’s broader development goals.
As part of the partnership, South Africa and Afreximbank plan to jointly pursue a range of initiatives, including the South Africa-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme, guarantee programmes, financing for industrial parks and special economic zones, export trading company support, project and asset-based finance, conventional trade finance, and targeted funding for creative and cultural industries, alongside advisory services.
