By Ayomide Otitoju
As global financial pressures tighten on emerging markets, Africa’s trade finance gap—estimated at up to $100 billion annually— is set to take centre stage once again.
In response, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will host the 25th edition of its flagship Trade Finance Seminar (ATFS2025) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 4 to 6 November 2025, followed by a one-day Factoring Workshop on 7 November 2025.
The annual event will bring together leading African and international trade finance specialists, banking executives, corporates, and regulators to explore innovative financial solutions aimed at unlocking new business opportunities—particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute over 90% of Africa’s businesses but remain underserved by traditional financial institutions.
Ms. Gwen Mwaba, Afreximbank’s Managing Director of Trade Finance & Correspondent Banking, said the seminar is crucial for equipping African financial professionals with the expertise to strengthen the continent’s trade resilience.
“Structured trade finance is Africa’s ticket to turning unbankable deals into viable trade,” Mwaba said. “Hosting this training in Africa allows hundreds of professionals to build critical expertise at a fraction of the cost of similar programmes in global financial centres like London, Singapore, or New York.”
The ATFS2025 programme will feature keynote addresses, interactive workshops, and high-level panel sessions, including:
“Unlocking Africa’s Trade Finance Potential: Expanding Supply While Reducing Costs” by Marc Auboin, World Trade Organization (WTO)
“Africa’s Emerging Role in Global Energy Finance” by Sylvia Macri, S&P Global Commodity Insights
A workshop on Reserve-Based Lending led by Dr. Lekan Aluko of Petrovision Energy Services and Peter Olowononi of Afreximbank
Other key sessions will cover syndications and agency operations, Africa’s lending landscape, and the evolving role of development banks in closing the continent’s trade finance gap.
The seminar aims to strengthen Africa’s internal trade financing capacity amid tightening global regulations and the retreat of international lenders, reinforcing Afreximbank’s commitment to building a more self-reliant and competitive African financial ecosystem.
