In Cairo, Afreximbank laid the first stone of its African Trade Centre, a strategic project aimed at strengthening intra-African trade and supporting the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In Cairo, Afreximbank officially launched the construction of its African Trade Centre, an emblematic project that will also host the headquarters of the pan-African bank. Envisioned as a future strategic hub for intra-African trade, this center aims to support the continent’s economic transformation and provide concrete momentum to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“ Afreximbank’s African Trade Centers represent something extraordinary for us at Afreximbank. And this one in particular in Cairo, where Afreximbank’s headquarters is located, is intended to be the flagship of all these trade centers. What they represent for us as an institution and as a continent is the full range of opportunities for intra-African trade”
George Elombi, President of Afreximbank – Cameroon
Located in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, the Afreximbank African Trade Center is intended to be a pan-African reference platform, bringing together financial institutions, companies, investors, and public decision-makers. The goal is clear: to facilitate trade, support African businesses, and accelerate the continent’s economic integration. The project fully aligns with the African Continental Free Trade Area, which came into effect in 2021, with the ambition of creating a single market of 54 countries and over 1.3 billion consumers.
“Everything will be made available to develop intra-African international trade. You know, the second revolution Africa had after the creation of the African Union was the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area ”
Mohamadou Labarang, Ambassador to Egypt – Cameroon
For Afreximbank, these African Trade Centers are intended to become operational levers of the AfCFTA, removing logistical, financial, and institutional barriers that still hinder intra-African trade, which currently represents less than 20% of the continent’s total trade. The Cairo site is thus expected to become the nerve center of a future network of trade hubs across Africa. Through this structuring project, Afreximbank aims to strengthen its role as the financial arm of African integration and to transform the AfCFTA’s ambitions into tangible economic realities, serving African businesses and states.
