Representing an important step forward in advancing intra-Africa trade, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has officially commissioned its first Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC) in Abuja, Nigeria.
The AATC is regarded as a landmark project that embodies a shared commitment to advancing intra-African trade, fostering economic integration and unlocking the vast potential of the continent.
“This Centre will serve as a critical platform for trade facilitation, capacity building and investment promotion – key pillars of Africa’s economic transformation,” said Dr George Akume, secretary to the Government of Federation, Nigeria.
“The Abuja AATC is the first of several AATCs under development across Africa and the Caribbean,” said Prof Benedict Oramah, President and chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank.
Some will be Afreximbank-owned, while others will be supported through a franchise scheme. “With these, we expect to create a sizeable network of AATCs that will act as the lighthouses to guide the interconnections and flow of trade and investments within continental Africa and between Africa and Caribbean regions.
“This AATC Abuja has been a 41-month journey, one built on hope and determination. Like the other AATCs, the Abuja Centre will serve a multipurpose goal; it will serve as a platform for fostering deeper regional and continental integration and house Afreximbank’s permanent regional office, bringing a three-decade-old aspiration to fruition. It will also offer a technology incubation hub, an SME incubation facility, a Digital Africa Trade Gateway, a conference and exhibition facility and a business hotel.”
It comprises two interconnected nine-storey towers. One features world-class commercial A-grade office spaces, a trade and exhibition centre, a conference centre, a technology and SME incubator, a Digital Trade Gateway and a trade information services hub.
The adjoining tower houses a 148-room business hotel, seminar and meeting rooms, a wellness centre, a restaurant and other ancillary facilities.
Further AATCs are planned in Kampala, Uganda; Harare, Zimbabwe; Cairo, Egypt; Yaoundé, Cameroon; Tunis, Tunisia; and Kigali, Rwanda. In addition, Afreximbank recently broke ground in Bridgetown, Barbados, to construct the first centre outside of Africa.
Through franchising and licensing arrangements, the Bank intends to partner with relevant institutions and economic development organisations to establish non-Bank owned AATCs in the rest of Global Africa. These will serve to link buyers, sellers, suppliers, service providers, enterprises, governments, chambers of commerce, financial institutions, economic development organisations and the general African and global trade and investment community.
