By Shermain Bique-Charles, reporting from the Bahamas
The 31st African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) annual meeting brought together more than 3,000 delegates from across the globe, including Caricom heads of state and presidents of several African countries.
The main focus of the gathering – held in Nassau, Bahamas – was to boost and streamline Africa-Caribbean trade.
The event also drew the attention of more than 90 journalists, including one from Antigua and Barbuda, providing a platform for participants to share their message with a global audience.
Under the theme “Owning our Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa”, the conference aimed to strengthen economic ties between Africa and the Caribbean. The African diaspora is considered the sixth region of the African Union.
This gathering was of utmost importance for economic decision-makers and received extensive coverage from African, Caribbean and international media.
In his opening remarks, John Rolle, Governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas, urged participants to seize the opportunities for learning, sharing, and networking.
He particularly highlighted the potential benefits for the Caribbean in adopting the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) from Africa and expressed his belief that with support from Afreximbank, central banks across Caricom can work towards implementing a similar system.
PAPSS is a cross-border, financial market infrastructure enabling payment transactions across Africa.
Following the opening ceremony, a session on “Building Resilience in an Era of Globalisation” featured a keynote address from Dr Roger Ferguson, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve. Dr Ferguson stressed the importance of developing adaptable systems to respond to challenges and warned against the risks of inflexibility in the face of shocks.
The first plenary session focused on navigating economic transformation in a world of multiple crises. Dr Donald Kaberuka, Chairman and Managing Partner of SouthBridge Group and former President of African Development Bank Group, emphasised the need for countries to manage crises effectively rather than treating them as isolated incidents.
Moreover, the day witnessed a significant moment as actress Viola Davis signed a memorandum of intent with Afreximbank and the Fund for Export Development in Africa to establish an African film development value chain.
She emphasised the power of storytelling in reshaping the African narrative and stressed the importance for Africans to take ownership of their narrative.
A number of dynamic women attended the conference including Pamela Coke-Hamilton, the executive director of the International Trade Center (ITC), who told attendees that recent research indicates significant potential for trade between Africa and the Caribbean.
She said there is a chance to reach a trade volume of US$1.8 billion in goods and services between Africa and the Caribbean by 2028, something she said would benefit the economies of both regions.
Coke-Hamilton pointed out that trade between Africa and the Caribbean has been decreasing over the past 10 years. Reports show that very little African exports go to the Caribbean, and even fewer Caribbean exports go to Africa.
She also mentioned that most of the current exports from these regions are focused on a few basic industries, such as unprocessed chemicals and minerals, instead of more valuable products like machinery, plastics, electricity, and processed food.
Coke-Hamilton explained that historical trade terms are one of the reasons for this situation and called for new trade agreements to solve these problems.
She also highlighted that both Africa and the Caribbean are dealing with similar issues like climate change, disruptions in supply chains, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their economies.
To improve trade and investment, ITC is starting a new project with Afreximbank. This project will focus on developing five important industries that could help both small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Africa and the Caribbean.
However, poor infrastructure is holding back trade in both regions. Better logistics and transportation systems are needed to improve trade, she said.
Coke-Hamilton mentioned that discussions are ongoing to create a free trade agreement between Africa and the Caribbean, similar to the one in Europe.
Afreximbank also signed two facility agreements totalling $80 million with CBZ Bank Zimbabwe during the event. The first agreement is an uncommitted facility for $60 million to confirm trade instruments issued by CBZ.
The second agreement, a $20 million facility, will support on-lending to corporate clients and SMEs for essential trade finance activities, including procurement of raw materials and supply chain business activities.
These agreements were signed by Smangele Mandidi, Acting Managing Director of CBZ Bank, and Haytham Elmaayergi, Executive Vice President of Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank.
These facilities aim to enhance trade finance in Zimbabwe and support economic growth by empowering SMEs and corporate clients.
The conference ended on Friday.
