Afreximbank’s approved loan to Nigeria now $5.5 billion 

Pan African financial institution, Afreximbank, says its total loan approvals to Nigeria stands at $5.5 billion, accounting for 26.8% of its  African portfolio.

Dr George Elombi, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Governance and Legal Services disclosed this at the intra-African Trade Fair 2021 official Nigeria high-level roadshow in Lagos on Monday.

According to him, the Africa Trade and Investment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has likely taken on an even more important role as the framework for African economic recovery in the context of COVID-19.

Dr. Elombi explained that by 2020, Nigeria’s imports from the African region would account for 7% of total imports, while its exports to the African region would account for 20% of total exports.

“Accounting for about 52% of the total population of West Africa, Nigeria stands to benefit the most from an intra African trade fair, an event intended to enhance the trade of African states among themselves, and to meet the objectives of Agenda 2063 as declared by African Heads of State,” he said.

Elombi said that the bank has approved over $26 billion in support of Nigerian public and private sector institutions since its inception in 1993, and that it continues to assist the Nigerian economy through various funding programs for Nigerian businesses.

“From January to August 2021, total loan approvals for Nigeria were in excess of $1.89 billion and at the end of August 2021, the bank’s total loans exposure to Nigeria was $5.5 billion, representing 26.8% share of the bank’s total loans and advances,” he said.

With its varied variety of financial and non-financial instruments, Afreximbank, as the organizer of the Durban Intra-African Trade Fair, has aided and facilitated trade and investment in Nigeria.