Afreximbank merges trade finance, compliance forums
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will merge its annual trade finance seminar and compliance forum for the first time this November, bringing bankers, regulators and trade experts to Botswana to tackle the financing and regulatory hurdles facing African commerce.
The joint format signals that the bank sees access to finance and regulatory trust as linked barriers to intra-African trade. The three-day meeting will examine how trade finance and compliance can support implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), fund regional value chains and trade-enabling infrastructure, and ease cross-border commerce.
The 2026 Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar and Compliance Forum will be held from November 16 to 18 at the Gaborone International Convention Centre, in partnership with the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC).
A Factoring Workshop on November 19 will focus on factoring and other alternative trade finance solutions to improve businesses’ access to funding.
The Trade Finance Seminar (ATFS2026) will run under the theme, Trade Financing in the AfCFTA Era: Resilient Value Chains, Infrastructure and Market Integration.
It will examine the role of trade finance in supporting AfCFTA implementation, regional value chains and trade-related infrastructure.
“The AfCFTA is creating a larger and more integrated market, but its success will depend on our ability to finance the trade, value chains and infrastructure that connect African economies,” said Haytham El Maayergi, Afreximbank’s executive vice-president for Global Trade Bank.
“By bringing together trade finance, compliance and market practitioners, we aim to turn that opportunity into more bankable transactions, stronger regional value chains and increased intra-African trade.”
The Compliance Forum (ACF2026) will be held under the theme, Better Compliance, Better Trade: Leveraging Compliance to Promote African Regulations that Advance Intra-African Economic and Trade Integration.
Idrissa Diop, Afreximbank’s compliance director, said compliance could facilitate cross-border trade by building trust and managing regulatory risk.
“Compliance must be recognised not simply as a regulatory obligation, but as an essential enabler of trusted, resilient and sustainable trade,” he said.
“Through ACF2026, we aim to bring together the institutions shaping Africa’s financial and trade architecture to identify practical ways of aligning compliance standards, managing emerging risks and reducing unnecessary barriers to intra-African trade and business growth.”
Keletsositse Olebile, chief executive officer of BITC, said the events would also showcase Botswana’s role in regional trade and investment.
“Botswana is proud to partner with Afreximbank to host the Compliance Forum, Trade Finance Seminar and Factoring Workshop,” he said. “These events will highlight Botswana’s growing role as a regional trade and investment hub, as well as its commitment to advancing economic development and continental cooperation.”
