South Africa has become the latest member state to join the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), inking an US$8bn deal with the multilateral bank to expand intra-African trade.
The accession agreement, signed Wednesday, February 4, marks an “historic milestone” that aims to “unlock trade opportunities within a global financial architecture”, the Cairo-headquartered lender said.
The US$8bn country programme will focus on helping to stimulate industrial development, strengthen regional supply chains and increase continental investment flows.
Country programmes are typically used to support nations that need a more bespoke approach from Afreximbank, such as multiple financing products.
The financial package for South Africa will support a range of strategic projects across trade and industry, the lender said. It will target sectors such as financial services, manufacturing, energy and mining, and is aligned with South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030.
George Elombi, president and chairman of Afreximbank, said the accession of Africa’s largest economy represented a “decisive step toward uniting around the continent’s economic interests”.
“South Africa’s membership of the bank, while providing Afreximbank a full continental coverage, brings the country into the heart of Afreximbank’s vision and its aspirations to promote the change so much desired in the structure of Africa’s trade,” Elombi said.
Elombi noted that Afreximbank’s current pipeline of projects in South Africa are at different stages of review and total more than US$6bn.
The multilateral bank also said it would pursue a range of trade and economic development programmes in collaboration with South Africa, including the South Africa-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme and the Afreximbank Guarantee Programme, as well as prioritising trade, export and project finance.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said: “South Africa’s accession to Afreximbank confirms our commitment to advancing African industrial development and deepening trade, investment, and development across the continent.”
Ramaphosa said an immediate priority would be South Africa’s transformation fund, which supports “Black businesses who … were held back by the Apartheid system from being active participants in the economy of our country”.
The Parliament of South Africa approved the accession last year.
South Africa is a major contributor to intra-African trade. According to Afreximbank’s 2025 African Trade Report, the country was the leading intra-African trading nation in 2024.
Its intra-African trade grew by 7.5% to US$42.1bn in 2024, with 24.6% of total exports heading to African markets.
Elsewhere, Afreximbank recently closed a US$1.75bn syndicated receivables purchase facility for Sonangol to help boost Angola’s national oil company’s exports.
The lender also made headlines for cutting ties with credit agency Fitch, accusing it of failing to understand its mandate after the agency downgraded the lender’s debt rating to junk status due to concerns about non-performing sovereign loans.
