Afreximbank Opens $2bn Financing Window for Cross River, Other African States

Afreximbank Opens $2bn Financing Window for Cross River, Other African States Bassey Inyang in Calabar The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has opened a $2 billion financing facility for Cross River State and other African sub-sovereign governments to fund bankable projects capable of transforming their economies. The Director, Trade Facilitation and Investment Promotion, Afreximbank, Dr. Gainmore Zanamwe, disclosed this on Wednesday during a media briefing ahead of the 6th African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network Investment Conference (AfSNET 2026), scheduled to hold in Calabar from November 12 to 14. Zanamwe said the facility was readily available to African governments, dismissing concerns that lack of funding was a major obstacle to development projects on the continent. “We have this facility ready to finance projects. Some people say funding is a problem. From Africa we say no. The $2 billion is there. Go and tell your people. You people in the media, go and tell people that money is there,” he said. He said the bank would use the three-day conference to educate participating states on the requirements and procedures for accessing the facility. According to him, the conference will also feature practical sessions on identifying, developing and packaging projects to meet the requirements of financial institutions and potential investors. “How do you then access the funding? That’s what we’ll be telling everybody in the course of the next three days. We’ll be showing you how you can tap into the $2 billion to do your projects. We’ll make it very simple,” he said. He emphasised that access to the facility would depend on the quality and bankability of projects presented by the states, urging governments to develop clear economic visions and identify priority sectors before approaching investors. Zanamwe explained that project development should begin with a clearly defined government vision, followed by the identification of two or three strategic sectors with the greatest potential to promote trade and investment. He said the conference would commence with a training session on how states could identify viable projects, stressing that approaching investors without proper project preparation was unlikely to yield results. The Afreximbank director identified two major approaches to raising capital: developing bankable projects that could attract financing from institutions such as Afreximbank, and preparing investment pitch decks capable of generating interest among prospective investors. He also advocated greater intra-African investment through the Africa Direct Investment initiative, noting that investors from within the continent should enjoy the same incentives and privileges available to investors from outside Africa. Zanamwe said governors and other state representatives would have the opportunity to present their investment projects to prospective financiers and investors on November 13 and 14. He disclosed that over the past five years, the initiative had facilitated investment opportunities valued at more than $3 billion, trained over 2,000 people and engaged with 21 African countries. Speaking on behalf of Governor Bassey Otu, the Cross River State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Pastor Ekpenyong Cobham, welcomed investors to the state, expressing the government’s readiness to leverage the conference to attract investment and revive the state’s economy. Cobham said the state government’s ongoing efforts to rejuvenate its agrarian economy included deliberate measures to improve the processing of agricultural products to meet international standards. “With Cross River State’s agrarian economy being rejuvenated by this administration, for the first time a very deliberate attempt is being made to make sure that our diverse products are being properly processed to meet international standards,” he said. He added that the government was prepared to use the opportunity to establish an integrated economic framework that would restore Cross River State’s economic fortunes. “The state government is ready to take advantage of that to build a holistic system that will restore the lost glory of the economy of Cross River State,” he said.