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With the aim to expand the economy of South Africa and its footprint in Africa, the President of South Africa H.E Cyril Ramaphosa led the signing ceremony of the Afreximbank agreement on Wednesday, 4 February 2026, in Johannesburg which included an $8 billion import investment.
Ramaphosa described the moment as a milestone as the country accedes to Afreximbank, as South Africa is on a quest to realise the economic integration of the African continent. He said South Africa’s accession to the Africa Export‑Import Bank affirms government’s commitment to African industrial development and to deepening trade, investment and development across the continent.
Cyril Ramaphosa said once finalised, the South Africa‑Afreximbank Country Programme will be operationalised with a finance package that will initially support a range of strategic projects across the trade and industrial cluster. The programme will inject capital into priority industrial projects, export diversification, infrastructure development and transformation initiatives.
“Today’s signing signals a deliberate, ambitious and more impactful phase in South Africa’s economic engagement with Africa and the world. For South Africa, the decision to accede to Afreximbank represents a strategic alignment. We seek to contribute to an Africa that prioritises intra‑continental trade, that builds its own industrial base, and that mobilises African financial institutions to support development.
For more than 30 years, Afreximbank has demonstrated resilience, innovation and impact. It has developed a diversified portfolio across geographies and sectors. This partnership will strengthen South Africa’s ability to support exporters, industrial projects and regional value chains, while advancing continental development,” said President Ramaphosa.
During his addressing welcoming South Africa to Afreximbank, George Elombi, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank, said South Africa’s decision to join Afreximbank marks a decisive step towards uniting around the continent’s economic interests.
Elombi told his audience that South Africa’s membership of the Bank, while providing Afreximbank a full continental coverage, brings the country into the heart of Afreximbank’s vision and its aspirations to promote the change so much desired in the structure of Africa’s trade.
The President and Chairman further urged that Africa should trade amongst itself as it has a large consumer market with great potential; the continent itself has an abundance of natural mineral resources. He said leaders on the continent should move away from depending on the global west for trade and funds.
“This partnership could not have come at a better time: at this particular time, perhaps to remind us that those who built the modern world on the foundation of global cooperation and multilateralism may turn their backs on it. The fate of our economy, the destiny of the African people, can no longer be tied to the benevolence of others. Today, we assume full responsibility for our economic destiny.
We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Let us look within the continent for sources of development. We have a sizeable market of 1.4 billion people that should become our preferred destination for manufactured goods or source of raw materials. We have abundant resources and enough capital to invest in processing capacities. The fate of our economies and the destiny of the African people can no longer be tied to the benevolence of others,” George Elombi.
Elombi said Afreximbank and the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) led by Minister Hon Parks Tau they have put together an import package worth US$8 billion for South Africa. He said the country programme is aligned with South Africa’s national development plan 2030 and national industrial and trade priorities, and will target key strategic areas, including:
Heavy investments in the local processing of natural resources, thereby helping retain value within economies, create jobs, generate wealth for the people, and expand the revenue base for the South African government. In particular, Afreximbank will prioritise mineral processing, expansion of automotive manufacturing and development and expansion of industrial parks and special industrial zones.
“We plan to invest in the development of critical infrastructure, including energy generation and transmission, which are vital for industrial production; we also plan to facilitate access to regional and continental markets, thereby realising value from the single market under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
We will work with institutions such as the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), and commercial banks such as Rand Merchant and Standard Banks, our true partners in the drive towards a private sector -led transformation of the South African and continent’s economies,” he said.
