As emerging markets worldwide continue to face financial difficulties, the spotlight will once again be on the $100 billion annual trade finance deficit in Africa.
To help bridge this gap, Afreximbank will host the 25th edition of its flagship Trade Finance Seminar (ATFS2025) in Abidjan from November 4th to 6th, 2025. Discussions will explore innovative financing structures designed to unlock new trade opportunities, with a focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent over 90% of businesses on the continent but remain underserved by traditional banks. A one-day factoring workshop will follow on November 7th, 2025.
ATFS2025 will bring together leading African and international experts in trade finance, banking professionals, businesses, and regulators.
Ms. Gwen Mwaba, Director of Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking Services for Afreximbank, stated: “Structured trade finance is Africa’s way of transforming non-bankable agreements into viable trade exchanges. This seminar provides financial leaders with the necessary tools to unleash large-scale growth, especially in a challenging environment.”
She added: “As global regulations tighten and international lenders step back, Africa must strengthen its own capacity to deploy structured trade finance. Holding this training in Africa allows hundreds of African professionals to acquire essential expertise at a much lower cost than similar programs offered in major global financial centers such as London, Singapore, or New York.”
The seminar program will include keynote speeches, interactive workshops, and high-level roundtable discussions. The program themes include:
– Unlocking Africa’s trade finance potential: Increasing supply while reducing costs, presented by Marc Auboin (World Trade Organization-WTO)
– The emerging role of Africa in global energy finance, presented by Sylvia Macri, S&P Global Commodity Insights
– Workshop on understanding reserve-based lending, presented by Dr. Lekan Aluko, Petrovision Energy Services, and Peter Olowononi, Afreximbank
There will also be a workshop on syndications and agencies covering key financial documents and the African loan landscape. The program also includes a session on eliminating the trade finance deficit: The role of development banks, the new world order of trade finance, and the Conference of the Parties on Trade Finance. The full program and registration details are available via this link: https://atfs2025.afreximbankevents.com.
