Economy
Afreximbank funds have over $450m for investment, say officials
Funds set up by the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim) have more than $450 million to invest in financial services, creative industries, oil refineries and healthcare, officials said on Wednesday. The Fund For Export Development in Africa (FEDA) has raised $770 million for four funds, Marlene Ngoyi, FEDA’s CEO, said in an interview at the opening of its Kigali office. It has already invested about $300 million, Afrexim’s President Benedict Oramah also told Reuters. FEDA, unveiled by multilateral trade finance bank Afrexim in 2016 and which makes equity, debt and credit investments, as well as “greenfield” investments in new businesses, had raised $670 million by 2022. It is targeting raising $1.3 billion in total. Afrexim in a statement said “The African Export – Import Bank has officially unveiled its Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) office in Kigali, Rwanda. FEDA was established to tackle Africa’s US$110 billion financing gap for intra-African trade, value-added export development, and industrialisation value chains, with Rwanda being the first among fifteen African nations to ratify its establishment agreement.
“The event was graced by the Right Honourable Dr. Edouard Ngirente, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda who was accompanied by the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, Executive Vice Presidents of Afreximbank, members of the Board of Directors of FEDA and Marlene Ngoyi, Chief Executive Officer of FEDA. Speaking at the inauguration, the Prime Minister said: “The establishment of FEDA in Rwanda reflects our commitment to not only fostering economic development within our borders but also to playing a pivotal role in the economic transformation of our continent. This initiative is a step closer to the realisation of the goals outlined in the Agenda 2063 of the African Union which lays great emphasis on the transformation of African economies and acceleration of economic growth on the continent.” He noted that despite Africa’s significant resource endowments and contiguous markets, the continent had the lowest level of intra-regional trade in the world, adding that the continent’s share of value created remained the lowest across many products and commodities due to sub-optimal value addition.
On his part, President of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah noted: “FEDA adds to the pool of institutions helping Africa to create its own capital base for development. With a focus on providing long-term, patient capital targeting all segments, from SMEs to corporates, and cutting across dynamic sectors of value-addition, services, and technology, FEDA is poised to drive Africa’s development under a new vision of de-commoditised, growth-oriented pathways underpinned by a dynamic private sector.” Prof. Oramah said “The strategic importance of FEDA is becoming apparent just four years after it began operations. Funds Under Management under different strategies amount to about $800 million and FEDA is using some of these funds to create and mobilise additional funds. FEDA is also a co-promoter of a $500 million Africa Credit Opportunity Fund (ACOF) and is currently creating a $100 million Venture Capital Fund to focus on start-ups and SMEs with seed funding from Afreximbank.” The inauguration, which took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Kigali Convention Centre, was witnessed by over 150 guests drawn from the Rwandan government, the business and diplomatic community in Rwanda and representatives of the African Union and other regional economic and political bodies among others. FEDA became the Fund Manager of the US$1 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund in 2023.
“Across all of our fund strategies we’re probably going to be making I would say 10 to 15 investments (this year),” Ngoyi said. “We have the private credit fund that we manage. We expect to see transactions – we had four last year, we expect more this year.” She declined to disclose the size of the planned investments, but said manufacturing and logistics were other sectors of interest. FEDA’s investments so far include $85 million in industrial zone developer ARISE IIP in 2022, as well as taking a minority stake in pan-African technology company Liquid Intelligent Technologies in 2021 and putting an undisclosed amount last year into the 60,000 barrel-per-day Cabinda Oil Refinery in Angola. “You are not going to see FEDA investing in minerals and metals. We have to go beyond that. But you will see FEDA investing in refineries as it has done with Cabinda refinery in Angola,” said Oramah, Afrexim’s head.
The Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program and the Federal Republic of Nigeria formalized a partnership with the signing of the AATB Membership Agreement, officially welcoming Nigeria as the Program’s newest member country. The signing ceremony took place in Abuja on the sidelines of the 5th AATB Board of Governors Meeting, hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Membership Agreement was signed by Eng. Adeeb Y. Al Aama, the CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and AATB Program Secretary General, and H.E. Mr. Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Agreement will provide a strategic and operational framework to support Nigeria’s efforts in trade competitiveness, promote export diversification, strengthen priority value chains, and advance capacity-building efforts in line with national development priorities. Areas of collaboration will include trade promotion, agribusiness modernization, SME development, businessmen missions, trade facilitation, logistics efficiency, and digital trade readiness.
The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, called for deeper trade collaboration between African and Arab nations, stressing the importance of value-added Agribusiness and industrial partnerships for regional growth. Speaking in Abuja at the Agribusiness Matchmaking Forum ahead of the AATB Board of Governors Meeting, the Minister said the shifting global economy makes it essential for African and Arab nations to rely more on regional cooperation, investment and shared markets.
He highlighted projections showing Arab-Africa trade could grow by more than US$37 billion in the next three years and urged partners to prioritize value addition rather than raw commodity exports. He noted that Nigeria’s growing industrial base and upcoming National Single Window reforms will support efficiency, investment and private-sector expansion.
“This is a moment to turn opportunity into action”, he said. “By working together, we can build stronger value chains, create jobs and support prosperity across our regions”, Edun emphasized. “As African and Arab nations embark on this journey of deeper trade collaboration, the potential for growth and development is vast. With a shared vision and commitment to value-added partnerships, we can unlock new opportunities, drive economic growth, and create a brighter future for our people.”
Speaking during the event, Eng. Adeeb Y. Al Aama, Chief Executive Officer of ITFC and Secretary General of the AATB Program, stated: “We are pleased to welcome Nigeria to be part of the AATB Program. Nigeria stands as one of Africa’s most dynamic and resilient economies in Africa, with a rapidly expanding private sector and strong potential across agribusiness, energy, manufacturing, and digital industries. Through this Membership Agreement, we look forward to collaborating closely with Nigerian institutions to strengthen value chains, expand regional market access, enhance trade finance and investment opportunities, and support the country’s development priorities.”
The signing of this Agreement underscores AATB’s continued engagement with African countries and its evolving portfolio of programs supporting trade and investment. In recent years, AATB has worked on initiatives across agribusiness, textiles, logistics, digital trade, export readiness under the AfCFTA framework, and other regional initiatives such as the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme.
With Nigeria’s accession, the AATB Program extends it’s presence in the region and adds a key partner working toward advancing trade-led development and fostering inclusive economic growth.
Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), a key fiscal document that outlines Nigeria’s revenue expectations, macroeconomic assumptions, and spending priorities for the next three years. The approval followed Wednesday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu made this known after the meeting.
The Minister said the Federal Government is projecting a total revenue inflow of N34.33 trillion in 2026, including N4.98 trillion expected from government-owned enterprises. Bagudu said that the projected revenue is N6.55 trillion lower than earlier estimates, adding that federal allocations are expected to drop by about N9.4 trillion, representing a 16% decline compared to the 2025 budget.
He said that statutory transfers are expected to amount to about N3 trillion within the same fiscal year. On macroeconomic assumptions, FEC adopted an oil production benchmark of 2.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) for 2026, although a more conservative 1.8 mbpd will be used for budgeting purposes. An oil price benchmark of $64 per barrel and an exchange rate of N1,512 per dollar were also approved.
Bagudu said the exchange rate assumption reflects projections tied to economic and political developments ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said the exchange rate assumption took into account the fiscal outlook ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The minister said that all the parameters were based on macroeconomic analysis by the Budget Office and other relevant agencies. Bagudu said FEC also reviewed comments from cabinet members before approving the Medium-Term Fiscal Expenditure Ceiling (MFTEC), which sets expenditure limits. Earlier, the Senate approved the external borrowing plan of $21.5 billion presented by President Tinubu for consideration The loans, according to the Senate, were part of the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for the 2025 budget.
The spot rate on Nigerian Treasury bills has been increased by 146 basis points by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following tight subscription levels at the main auction on Wednesday. The spot rate on Treasury bills with one-year maturity has now surpassed Nigeria’s 16.05% inflation by 145 basis points following a recent decision to keep the policy rate at 27%.
The Apex Bank came to the primary market with N700 billion Treasury bills offer size across standard tenors, including 91-day, 182-day and 364 day maturities. Details from the auction results showed that demand settled slightly above the total offers as investors began to seek higher returns on naira assets despite disinflation.
Total subscription came in at about N775 billion versus N700 billion offers floated at the main auction. The results showed rising appetite for duration as investors parked about 90% of their bids on Nigerian Treasury bills with 364 days maturity. The CBN opened N100 billion worth of 91 days bills for subscription, but the offer received underwhelming bids totalling N44.17 billion.
The CBN allotted N42.80 billion for the short-term instrument at the spot rate of 15.30%, the same as the previous auction. Total demand for 182 days Nigerian Treasury bills settled at N33.38 billion as against N150 billion that the authority pushed out for subscription. The CBN raised N30.36 billion from 182 days bills allotted to investors at the spot rate of 15.50%, the same as the previous auction.
Investors staked N697.29 billion on N450 billion in 364-day Treasury bills that was offered for subscription. The CBN raised N636.46 billion from the longest tenor at the spot rate of 17.50%, up from 16.04% at the previous auction.
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