The newly appointed president of the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) has suggested that evolving United States trade and energy policies are prompting African nations to reconsider their economic models and intensify efforts toward regional self-reliance. George Elombi, a Cameroonian lawyer and long-time executive within the bank, took office as president of the Cairo-based institution last month. He remarked that certain policies under President Donald Trump, though not designed with Africa in mind, have produced outcomes that may benefit the continent’s long-term development.
Speaking in an interview shortly after assuming leadership, Elombi noted that the United States’ shift away from renewable energy incentives, alongside the cessation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), has inadvertently provided an opening for African countries to prioritise local value chains and market integration. The trade agreement, which for 25 years offered preferential access to US markets for selected African exports, formally expired in September.
Elombi acknowledged that industries such as textiles, which had benefitted from tariff-free access to US markets, would face near-term challenges. However, he pointed out that the current environment may foster innovation by compelling governments and businesses to redirect exports toward regional markets and to develop domestic capacities for processing raw materials.
Afreximbank, which was established in 1993 to promote intra-African trade and investment, has seen its asset base expand significantly from 6 billion to 44 billion dollars over the past decade. Much of this growth has been driven by strong shareholder support and strategic capital mobilisation. The bank has emerged as a key institution during times of crisis, playing an instrumental role during the COVID-19 pandemic through its facilitation of vaccine procurement and distribution across the continent. It also allocated five billion dollars in response to inflation and supply disruptions arising from the war in Ukraine, stepping in where some multilateral lenders were less responsive.
Elombi emphasised the need for Africa to retain greater value from its natural resources by investing in processing infrastructure. While South Africa maintains a relatively mature mineral processing industry, many other African states still export raw materials which are refined in external markets, particularly in Asia. Afreximbank is prioritising strategic investments in sectors that support domestic beneficiation and industrialisation.
Among these are recent projects in Gabon and Benin, where the bank’s interventions in timber and textile processing respectively have significantly boosted foreign exchange revenues. According to Elombi, such developments demonstrate that the continent’s industrialisation is achievable when financing is made available for higher-risk investments typically avoided by commercial banks.
Nonetheless, Afreximbank has not escaped scrutiny. The institution was recently downgraded by credit rating agency Fitch to one notch above non-investment grade, citing disagreements over the classification of non-performing loans and the bank’s exposure to sovereign borrowers such as Ghana, Zambia and South Sudan. Elombi challenged the downgrade, claiming it reflected pressure from institutions favouring more conventional development finance frameworks. He contended that the vast majority of the bank’s loans are fully collateralised and that sovereign debt constitutes less than 10 per cent of its lending portfolio.
While Fitch maintained its position, alternative rating agencies including Japan’s JCR have continued to assign the bank an A minus investment-grade rating. Observers such as Deepak Dave, former chief risk officer at African Trade and Investment Development Insurance, warned that the bank’s expanding role should be matched with greater prudence, especially in light of its increasing exposure to distressed economies.
The bank has also been criticised for operating with a hybrid model that straddles commercial and development finance without always adhering to the transparency standards typically required by international development institutions. Bright Simons of Ghana’s IMANI think tank questioned the appropriateness of Afreximbank’s preferential creditor status, especially given the commercial margins it commands. Simons argued that this privilege, rooted in a founding treaty, creates an uneven playing field relative to traditional multilateral lenders such as the African Development Bank.
Elombi has rejected the notion that the bank is overreaching or operating without accountability. Instead, he argued that conventional lending practices have contributed to persistent economic dependency, social unrest, and limited public sector investment in industrialisation. He pointed to the historical conditionalities of concessional loans that, in his view, have constrained economic transformation across the continent. These patterns, he asserted, have largely reinforced Africa’s role as an exporter of unprocessed commodities.
The Afreximbank president maintained that the current geopolitical moment, while challenging, presents a unique opportunity for the continent to reimagine its development trajectory. “We have done things the same way for over five decades with limited results,” Elombi said. “Perhaps it is time to try a different approach that centres African agency and invests in the continent’s own capacities.”
His remarks reflect a growing sentiment among African leaders and institutions who are seeking to craft a more self-defined path forward. The recalibration of global trade and investment flows may well become a catalyst for regional integration and economic restructuring that places Africa’s needs and aspirations at the centre of its development paradigm.
