The head of the Africa Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) Caribbean operations, Okechukwu Ihejirika, says the institution is pleased to see Caribbean countries seizing opportunities at the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), which runs through Wednesday under the theme “Gateway to New Opportunities.”
Ihejirika, acting chief of operations at Afreximbank’s CARICOM office in Bridgetown—the bank’s only office outside Africa—told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that from the fair’s inception, the African diaspora, including the Caribbean, was intended to be part of the vision.
“When we are conceiving the Intra-African Trade Fair, we didn’t say ‘intra-Africa.’ We say ‘intra-African,’ emphasis on the ‘n.’ It means Africans. And Africans are Africans, no matter which part of the world they are,” he explained.
The fair, featuring 2,000 exhibitors and 35,000 visitors from more than 140 countries, is expected to generate over US$44 billion in trade and investment deals. Products on display range from food and clothing to vehicles and industrial machinery, with Caribbean entities among the exhibitors.
Ihejirika pointed to the physical presence of three regional leaders—Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis, and Grenada’s Dickon Mitchell—at the Global African Diaspora Day as evidence of growing governmental endorsement. “That shows endorsement at the governmental level … the trade fair has been positioned not just for Africa, but for Africans in the diaspora,” he said.
He noted growing interest in sectors such as tourism, agribusiness, and industrialisation, particularly as CARICOM continues to focus on food security. “It gives me great pleasure to see conversations happening on agribusiness, where people are seeking solutions on how Africans have navigated challenges, to help the Caribbean also become food secure,” he said.
Ihejirika also highlighted Afreximbank’s role in facilitating trade, beyond financing. “For business to thrive, there has to be a meeting point. What we’ve done is create a platform, leveraging Afreximbank’s convening power to bring players from both sides,” he said, citing last July’s AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Grenada (ACTIF2025) as part of the growing momentum.
While connectivity challenges remain between Africa and the Caribbean, Ihejirika said the focus is shifting from obstacles to solutions. “These challenges exist, but we’re no longer dwelling on them … we’re looking at it from a positive angle: how do we navigate through this?” he said, noting that direct business deals are already being struck in Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana.
He added that Afreximbank is optimistic about progress: “The distance between the Caribbean and Africa is short … conversations are happening in earnest to find a solution to that nagging problem. And I’m optimistic that in no distant time, that solution will come.”
