CAIRO — Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah has called for a bold shift in Africa’s economic direction, urging the continent to build its own form of internal globalisation rooted in trade, industrial growth, and collective self-reliance.
Speaking Monday morning at the FOCUS Africa Trade and Investment Forum in Cairo, Oramah made a case for greater integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), describing it as the key to unlocking shared prosperity and shielding the continent from growing global uncertainty.
He pointed to the bank’s ongoing efforts to drive this transformation through initiatives like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the Intra-African Trade Fair, and the Africa Trade Gateway, all designed to remove trade bottlenecks and accelerate economic convergence among African nations.
Oramah said the Bank’s approach goes beyond financing—it is helping to rebuild the very structure of how African countries do business with each other. From harmonised trade standards and transit guarantees to strategic infrastructure, the groundwork for a more unified market is already underway.
Through targeted programmes such as Intra-Champs, FEDA, and the Bank’s industrial parks partnership with Arise IIP, Afreximbank is also helping African enterprises scale up manufacturing, close infrastructure gaps, and lead the next wave of sustainable industrialisation.
As global multilateral systems face growing strain, Oramah insisted that Africa’s greatest opportunity lies in investing inward—building resilient supply chains, supporting African producers, and trading more with itself than with the rest of the world.
