The accession follows the South African Parliament’s historic approval of the accession in 2025, cementing a strategic partnership between Africa’s leading multilateral Bank and the continent’s industrial powerhouse. South Africa becomes the 54th state to accede to the Bank’s Establishment Agreement, which constitutes a historic milestone as the two partners seek to unlock trade opportunities within a global financial architecture that is rapidly fragmenting due to protectionist policies and shifting trade blocks. To operationalise this partnership, Afreximbank will launch major financial interventions in the Country. This includes a new US$8 billion Country Programme designed to deepen the South African economy.
These programmes are tailored to expand the Bank’s developmental impact; enhance industrial development and regional supply chains and significantly boost intra-African trade and investment flows. This support is strategically aligned with South Africa’s economic ambitions. As the continent’s highest regional contributor to intra African trade, accounting for 19.1% of the continent’s total trade in 2024, South Africa is uniquely positioned to leverage Afreximbank’s trade infrastructure, expertise and pan African reach to extend its export relationships across the continent. President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, hailed South Africa’s membership as a ‘decisive step’.
