President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday described the new Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC) in Abuja as an iconic complex that would break down barriers, bridge financing gaps and empower the African region to compete globally.
Built by the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), the iconic trade centre is a business complex that will house the bank’s regional office, a conference facility, a technology and SME incubator hub, a Digital Trade Gateway, a hotel, and a trade and exhibition centre. It will, among others, provide office spaces for Nigerian, African and foreign financial and policy organisations.
The commissioned Africa Trade Centre (AATC) in Abuja, marks a significant milestone in the bank’s efforts to foster regional and continental integration.
Officially commissioning the edifice on Thursday in Abuja, the President said the multi-million trade centre stands as a testament to the power of collaboration, resilience and forward-thinking leadership.
“It is more than a physical structure,” he said yesterday at the commissioning of the Centre in Abuja.
Meanwhile, the president and chairman of the board of directors of the Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, has described the Abuja centre as the first in a growing network of trade hubs across Africa and the Caribbean designed to connect businesses, promote intra-African trade, and reverse colonial legacies of division.
Oramah revealed that the Abuja AATC, a project 41 months in the making, would serve multiple functions, including housing Afreximbank’s permanent regional office, a technology and SME incubation hub, a digital trade gateway, a conference and exhibition facility, and a business hotel.
“This facility will turbocharge the engagements of Nigerian businesses in the AfCFTA,” he said, highlighting the digital linkages the AATC will establish with other trade centres in Africa, Barbados, and the Afreximbank Global Gateway in New York.
The Afreximbank chief emphasised that the Abuja AATC is part of a broader continental vision, with similar centres planned or under development in Harare, Kampala, Cairo, and Yaoundé. These centres, he said, would serve as institutional infrastructure for deepening economic ties among African countries and with the African diaspora, particularly the Caribbean. “Step-by-step, Afreximbank African Trade Centres will rise into the blue skies across Africa,” Oramah declared.
He also outlined the bank’s extensive interventions in Nigeria, noting that Afreximbank had disbursed about $50 billion into the country over the past decade, spanning energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, healthcare, and financial services. Key projects include the upcoming $750 million African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja, the African Quality Assurance Centre in Ogun, and support for Nigeria’s creative industry through a dedicated $200 million facility.
Oramah expressed deep appreciation to the Nigerian government for its consistent partnership, singling out President Bola Tinubu for his recent “exceptional support.” He invited guests to return to Abuja in June for Afreximbank’s 32nd Annual Meetings, which will be his final as president. “It will be a moment to reflect on our 32-year journey and shape the next decades of the Bank,” he said.
Represented by the secretary to the government of the Federation, George Akume, President Tinubu said the centre aligns perfectly with Nigeria’s strategic priorities under the federal government’s eight-point agenda, particularly in the areas of job creation, economic diversification and regional integration.
He urged African countries to renew their resolve to build a stronger, more interconnected and prosperous Africa. “To achieve these goals, we must unlock new trade corridors, reduce dependency on imports, empower SMEs and women-led businesses through access to markets and finance, and also harness digital technologies to streamline cross-border trade and reduce inefficiencies,” he stated.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun said
Afreximbank has been very compassionate in providing solutions to African trade problems.
“AFREXIMBANK serves the interests of the African continent and has continued to rigorously pursue the growth and integration of Caribbean countries to support their Trade and economic development,” he stated.
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