African Export Import Bank, Afreximbank, says Africa’s quest for seamless, competitive trade hinges on smarter borders, efficient transit systems, and stronger institutions.
Speaking at the Nigeria Customs Service’s CUSTOMS PACT, Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade, in Abuja, Afreximbank’s Director for Trade Facilitation and Investment Promotion, Dr. Gainmore Zanamwe, outlined the Bank’s sweeping interventions to modernise customs operations and clear long-standing transit hurdles across the continent.
Zanamwe noted that at the centre of these reforms is the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, AACTGS, a $1 billion facility designed to streamline the movement of goods by replacing multiple country-by-country guarantees with a single, technology-enabled transit bond.
According to a statement by the bank, the initiative cuts costs, frees capital previously locked in traditional guarantees, and deploys real-time cargo tracking to strengthen security and improve supply-chain efficiency.
Zanamwe also noted the bank’s wider portfolio, including its function as Regional Surety under the COMESA RCTG, a $300 million re-guarantee arrangement with ZEP-RE, and support for digital tools such as the EAC Customs Bond and Container Guarantee systems.
He revealed that Afreximbank is collaborating with the AfCFTA Secretariat to build a continent-wide transit guarantee mechanism backed by harmonised regulations, a unified digital platform, and closer coordination among national guarantors.
Through initiatives like the Trans-Africa Bond Alliance, TABA, the Bank is further boosting Africa’s capacity to underwrite customs and trade facilitation bonds, ensuring financial value remains within the region.
Zanamwe stressed that modern customs infrastructure, smart transit processes, and robust cross-border cooperation are now pivotal to reducing logistics costs, accelerating intra-African trade, and positioning the continent for the full benefits of the AfCFTA.
While delivering a keynote address on accelerating trade facilitation and regional integration under the AfCFTA, Afreximbank’s Director of Client Relations for Anglophone West Africa, Mr. Peter Olowononi, said Africa is entering a pivotal phase where seamless trade systems, upgraded infrastructure, and strong private-sector industrial capacity will determine how well the continent maximises the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.
Olowononi stressed that efficient customs operations, modernised border procedures, and interoperable digital systems have become critical pillars for boosting intra-African trade and shielding economies from global disruptions.
According to him, customs administrations are no longer just gatekeepers, they play a strategic role in easing the flow of goods, cutting logistics costs, and strengthening regional value chains.
Olowononi highlighted Afreximbank’s substantial contributions to private sector, driven infrastructure and industrial growth, citing financing that enabled the completion of the Dangote Refinery; support for Dangote Cement and BUA Cement in expanding haulage and regional distribution; and catalytic funding that scaled fertilizer production through Dangote Fertilizer, Indorama, and Notore.
He said these interventions are reshaping supply chains and opening new pathways for intra-African commerce.
He emphasised that closer collaboration between customs authorities and the private sector is essential, warning that industrial progress will not translate into market integration without efficient trade processes.
He said prioritising customs innovation, digitising systems, and harmonising procedures across borders are key to raising intra-African trade volumes and driving inclusive economic growth.
Olowononi also invited bankable and early-stage proposals from businesses seeking financing or technical assistance to expand export-oriented manufacturing, reaffirming Afreximbank’s commitment to advancing value addition and strengthening Africa’s production capacity.
