To address Africa’s persistent reliance on imported refined petroleum products, which accounted for an amount of US$30billion annually in petroleum import costs due to inadequate refining, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has launched a US$3 Billion Revolving Intra-African Oil Trade Financing Programme to finance the purchase of refined petroleum products by African and Caribbean oil buyers.

As a revolving facility, we expect it to finance about US$10 billion to US$14 billion of Intra-African petroleum imports. This programme seeks to leverage the growing refining capacity that Afreximbank has helped establish across the continent, while aligning with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which includes facilitating intra-African trade, promoting industrialisation, and creating jobs on the continent.

By deploying innovative trade finance and supply chain solutions tailored to key stakeholders’ needs in terms of tenure, price format and logistics requirements, this initiative supports Afreximbank’s strategic goals of advancing energy security, strengthening regional value chains, and fostering economic resilience within the continent and the Caribbean.