African trade experts are set to meet at the upcoming 2025 Trade Finance Seminar (ATFS2025) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to address the continent’s trade finance gap among others.
This is as global financial headwinds continue to squeeze emerging markets, with the continent’s trade finance gap, estimated at up to US$100 billion annually, in the spotlight once again.
The 25th edition of the seminar, set for 4 to 6 November, will be held by the African Export and Import bank (Afreximbank).
Discussions will explore innovative financing structures designed to unlock new business opportunities, with a particular focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up over 90% of the continent’s enterprises but remain underserved by traditional banks.
A one-day factoring workshop will follow on 7 November.
ATFS2025 will convene leading African and international trade finance specialists, banking professionals, corporates, and regulators.
Afreximbank’s managing director of trade finance and correspondent banking, Gwen Mwaba, says structured trade finance is Africa’s ticket to turning unbankable deals into viable trade.
She says this seminar equips financial leaders with the tools to unlock growth at scale, especially in challenging conditions.
“As global regulations tighten and international lenders scale back, Africa must strengthen its own capacity to deploy structured trade finance. Hosting this training in Africa allows hundreds of African professionals to build critical expertise at a fraction of the cost of similar programmes in the main global financial centres such as London, Singapore, or New York,” Mwaba says.
The seminar programme will feature keynote addresses, interactive workshops, and high-level panel discussions.
