Afreximbank has officially commissioned the $120 million African Trade Centre in Abuja to reinforce Nigeria’s ambition to become a key trade and investment hub under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
The new centre is designed to serve as a focal point for trade facilitation, investment promotion and regional cooperation.
It also represents Afreximbank’s first permanent presence in Nigeria in over three decades of operation.
Located in the Federal Capital Territory, the facility consists of two interconnected towers with dedicated spaces for trade policy development, financial services, business incubation and logistics coordination.
It also includes a business hotel conference, rooms and a trade information hub.
According to the bank, the Abuja African Trade Centre is the first in a network of planned hubs across key African cities like Cairo, Tunis, Yaoundé, Kigali, Kampala and Harare.
The goal is to strengthen intra-African trade by lowering transaction costs, streamlining documentation and bringing critical services under one platform.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Dr George Akume, described the project as a strategic enabler for economic diversification industrialisation and job creation.
He noted that the trade centre aligns with Nigeria’s eight-point agenda, especially in areas related to manufacturing SME support and regional competitiveness.
Afreximbank President Prof Benedict Oramah said the Abuja facility will operate as the bank’s regional office for West Africa and will support policy coordination across member countries.
He confirmed that the bank aims to double intra-African trade financing to $40 billion by 2026 and that the Abuja centre is central to achieving that target.
The facility integrates a digital trade platform to provide unified access to customs processes, payment systems and trade documentation.
Afreximbank believes this digital gateway will enhance operational efficiency for exporters and importers across the continent.
The Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, praised the initiative as timely given the urgency of building modern trade infrastructure across Africa.
She said the Abuja hub will strengthen Nigeria’s role in shaping the continent’s economic direction and provide a credible base for multilateral trade engagement.
Constructed to international green building standards, the centre is expected to receive LEED certification, making it one of the few certified sustainable commercial structures in the sub-region.
Analysts have noted that the building’s environmental standards reflect a broader shift toward responsible infrastructure investment.
Despite current challenges in intra-African trade the latest Afreximbank report shows marginal improvement with trade volumes accounting for 14.9 percent of Africa’s total trade in 2023 up from 13.6 percent in 2022.
The bank views initiatives like the Abuja Trade Centre as critical to pushing this figure higher in the coming years.
With increasing momentum behind the AfCFTA and renewed interest in regional supply chains, the Abuja centre is expected to play a central role in Nigeria’s long-term trade and industrial policy.
Stakeholders believe it will serve as a platform for advancing trade reforms and attracting foreign direct investment into critical sectors of the economy.
