BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — As the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) continues expanding its footprint in the Caribbean, a landmark plan to launch a dedicated regional export-import bank for the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is moving steadily through official approval channels, bringing new hope for easing the region’s long-standing access gaps to affordable development capital.
Okechukwu Ihejirika, acting chief operating officer of Afreximbank’s Caribbean Office, shared updates on the proposal Wednesday on the sidelines of the Climate Smart Summit held in the Barbadian capital. Speaking to Observer Online, he confirmed that the draft plan for the Caricom EXIM Bank has already completed its presentation to Caricom’s Council of Foreign Ministers and is now advancing through the regional review process.
“The initiative is currently under formal review. It was just presented to foreign ministers recently, so we expect to receive clearance from Caricom heads of government in the near term,” Ihejirika explained. He added that all feasibility studies for the project have been finalized, the full proposal has been circulated to relevant stakeholders, and implementation work will begin immediately once regional leaders formally approve the need for the new institution.
The proposed bank is designed to directly address a persistent economic challenge across the Caribbean: both public sector bodies and private businesses have long struggled to secure low-cost, long-term financing to support trade expansion and development projects. If established, the institution would fill a critical gap in the regional financial ecosystem by tailoring lending products to the specific needs of Caribbean economies.
In addition to advancing the new regional bank plan, Ihejirika announced a major expansion of Afreximbank’s own investment commitments to the region. When the bank launched its Caribbean regional hub in Barbados in 2023, it set an initial approved investment envelope of $1.5 billion. That cap has now been tripled to $5 billion to meet growing demand for financing across key strategic sectors.
Afreximbank’s current priority areas for investment in the Caribbean include infrastructure development, cross-border trade facilitation, and projects that build climate resilience — a critical focus for small island developing states that are disproportionately vulnerable to extreme weather and sea-level rise. To date, since opening its Barbados office, the bank has already approved close to $700 million in credit facilities for projects across multiple Caribbean nations, Ihejirika said.
Full additional details on the proposed Caricom EXIM Bank, including an analysis of its potential long-term impacts on regional development financing, will be featured in the upcoming Friday edition of *Business Week*.