Afreximbank Targets Jamaica With US$5 Billion Trade and Reconstruction Financing

The African Export-Import Bank is widening its focus in the Caribbean, placing Jamaica at the centre of efforts to strengthen commercial and investment connections with Africa.

At the bank's first roadshow in Kingston on Tuesday, Afreximbank presented a US$5 billion financing window intended to support industrial growth and trade across borders. The session drew representatives from Government and business, while the institution detailed a range of funding and support products.

Jamaica joined Afreximbank's partnership agreement in July 2025, bringing the country into the lender's expanding Global Africa framework. Bank executives regard Jamaica as an important Caribbean entry point that could help build stronger trade channels between the region and the African continent.

Eric Monchu Intong, Afreximbank's group managing director for client relations and regional operations, said the programme fits into a wider drive for “economic emancipation”, with financing used to encourage growth and widen trade. He said the bank wants to assist governments in carrying out their development agendas.

Afreximbank's proposal is not limited to ordinary loans. Its services include guarantees, advisory work, help with capital-market access, bond structuring and trade-payment arrangements, allowing it to support major transactions with many moving parts.

Intong said the bank's approach depends on cooperation with domestic financial institutions. “I cannot lend to the government or to a corporate without working with local banks,” he said. “We are here to complement what they do.”

That operating style is tied to Afreximbank's role as a development-focused bank that works closely with states. Through subsidiaries and dedicated platforms, it seeks to reduce obstacles to trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean, including in equity financing, compliance, insurance, healthcare and the creative economy.

One of those tools is Mansa, a platform created to manage compliance information by standardising and sharing Know Your Customer data. The system is meant to make due diligence easier and lower barriers in international deals, particularly for smaller businesses.

“We created a fully funded platform so that SMEs, banks, corporates and state-owned entities can upload their KYC information,” Intong said. “Once cleared, partners can transact with greater confidence.”

He argued that services of that kind can help ease persistent concerns about risk that have limited Caribbean companies, while also improving the confidence of investors.

For Jamaica, the bank's outreach comes as the Government looks for financing to aid reconstruction and resilience after Hurricane Melissa, along with longer-term development plans.

Finance Minister Fayval Williams indicated that Jamaica is open to closer engagement with Afreximbank and used the Kingston event to call for more collaboration.

Williams commended the bank's expansion over 30 years, calling it a “financial force”, and said Jamaica welcomed its move into the Caribbean. She also referred to previous assistance, including a US$600,000 grant after the hurricane.

“We welcome your presence in Jamaica and in the Caribbean,” she said, adding that trade finance, equity investment and logistics support would be important to the region's development.

Williams identified the new National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority as one possible partner, especially for restoring housing, utilities, public services and other infrastructure. She said major funding would be needed for both Government-led and private-sector initiatives.

She also placed the partnership in the context of wider trade diversification and South-South cooperation, saying she hoped stronger links would increase two-way commerce between Jamaica and African markets.