An $8 Billion Partnership: South Africa Joins Afreximbank as a Full Member and Unlocks a Major Growth Package

South Africa’s new strategic partnership with the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) has unlocked a US$8 billion commitment to drive industrial growth, create jobs and add more value to the country’s natural resources, the Presidency has confirmed.

The commitment follows the signing of the Instrument of Accession in Johannesburg earlier this month, when South Africa became a full sovereign member – a Class A shareholder – of the Cairo-headquartered bank. South Africa is the 54th state to accede to the bank’s Establishment Agreement.

What the money is for

According to the South African Government News Agency, the package paves the way for:

• Expanding local manufacturing and mineral processing, including funding support for local smelters, refineries and processing plants for gold, platinum and battery minerals such as lithium;
• Investing in critical infrastructure such as energy generation and transmission;
• Developing industrial parks and special economic zones;
• Improving access to regional and continental markets under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Small businesses stand to gain too. The bank’s programmes are designed to support SMME development in sectors like automotive components, pharmaceuticals and agro-processing, with access to trade finance, training and e-commerce readiness initiatives for digital trade across the continent.

“Whatever it takes”

Afreximbank President Dr George Elombi left little doubt about the bank’s intent.

“We have put together what we consider an important package of US$8 billion for South Africa. We will do whatever it takes to support the government and the private sector in building a local economy that serves all South Africans, and that looks out to the wider African continent as a natural source and destination of wealth.”

With a continental market of about 1.4 billion people, Elombi urged African countries to look inward for growth: “We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Let us look within the continent for sources of development.”

A stepping stone to a South African Exim bank

President Cyril Ramaphosa said accession affirms South Africa’s commitment to African industrial development, and revealed a bigger ambition: “Accession brings us a step closer towards the incubation of a South African Export–Import Bank,” building on the experience of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation.

South Africa is already the continent’s largest regional contributor to intra-African trade, accounting for 19.1% of total African trade in 2024, according to Afreximbank. Membership gives the country a stronger voice in the bank’s governance and access to more competitive financing for exporters, state-owned enterprises and private companies, with the bank set to work alongside institutions such as the Industrial Development Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Public Investment Corporation and commercial banks.

The full report was published by SAnews.

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