The soon-to-be-built Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre in Bridgetown is being framed as the beating heart of Africa–Caribbean economic cooperation, as regional leaders doubled down on its strategic importance during a major trade forum in Grenada this week.
Speaking during the opening of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) on Monday, outgoing President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah, described the centre as a flagship project that will drive trade, innovation, and investment across both regions.
“With three towers, this centre will host innovation labs, digital trade platforms, SME incubation, a world-class hotel, and conferencing and training facilities,” Professor Oramah said.
“All designed to make it a hub for African–Caribbean trade and investments, bridging the information and financing gaps that currently stand in the way we do business.”
He added that the Bridgetown centre will support the implementation of a growing pipeline of deals across the region and serve as a base for new platforms that enable cross-border transactions and support regional businesses.
Secretary-General of CARICOM, Dr Carla Barnett, also highlighted the centre’s role in facilitating deeper cooperation, noting that work is underway to finalise a new Memorandum of Understanding between CARICOM and Afreximbank to improve trade logistics, connectivity, and investment.
She said the Bridgetown hub aligns with broader goals to create more inclusive economic opportunities, particularly for women- and youth-led enterprises, and confirmed that CARICOM and the bank are collaborating on a new Green, Resilient and Sustainable Facility to finance climate-compatible growth in the region.
The Trade Centre, which broke ground at Jemmotts Lane, St Michael, earlier this year, is Afreximbank’s first of its kind outside of Africa.
It will also house the bank’s regional office, already operational in Barbados, and is expected to anchor many of the bank’s expanding initiatives in the Caribbean.
Professor Oramah noted that with 13 CARICOM countries now signed on to the partnership agreement with the bank, and eleven having ratified it, Barbados is well positioned to remain at the centre of the growing Africa–Caribbean trade agenda. (SM)
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