Tinubu urges Afreximbank to power Africa’s industrial growth

President Bola Tinubu has urged the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to intensify efforts to mobilise Africa’s financial, human and natural resources to accelerate industrialisation, value addition and economic transformation across the continent.

Tinubu made the call on Tuesday while receiving a delegation from Afreximbank led by its President and Chairman of the Board, Dr. George Elombi, at the State House in Abuja.

The President said Africa must move beyond exporting raw materials and focus on industrial development that creates jobs, strengthens manufacturing and boosts intra-African trade.

“We have what it takes to build this continent. We cannot continue to export raw materials without value addition,” Tinubu said, urging the bank to provide investment guarantees for industries such as battery production using Africa’s mineral resources, including lithium.

He also defended his administration’s economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, describing them as necessary measures to curb corruption and stabilise the economy.

Tinubu said the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development was designed to transform the recurring farmer-herder conflict into economic opportunities through livestock development and value-chain expansion.

He further called on Afreximbank to deepen collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture by investing in agricultural value chains, particularly cocoa, palm kernel and palm oil production, to boost exports and improve farmers’ incomes.

Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the administration’s economic diversification agenda is laying the foundation for sustainable industrial growth through investments in manufacturing, agriculture, solid minerals, oil and gas, and the digital economy.

Speaking during the visit, Afreximbank President George Elombi thanked Tinubu for supporting his emergence as the bank’s president and briefed him on the institution’s activities in Nigeria.

Elombi disclosed that Afreximbank has invested between $15 billion and $20 billion in Nigeria over the past five years across sectors including trade, healthcare, agricultural processing and value chains.

He also announced that the bank has committed $2 billion to support Nigeria’s cotton and garment industry, while highlighting its investments in the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Kano-Maradi railway project and the African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja, which is aimed at reducing medical tourism abroad.