CAIRO, Egypt / ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire (Oct. 8, 2025) — African trade and finance professionals will gather in Abidjan next month for the 25th Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar (ATFS2025) and Factoring Workshop, aimed at addressing the continent’s $100 billion annual trade finance gap and equipping financial leaders with tools to strengthen access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
According to a press statement released on Wednesday and sent to ChatNewsTV, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will host the event from November 4–6, 2025, followed by a one-day Factoring Workshop on November 7. The sessions will focus on innovative trade finance structures designed to unlock business opportunities and expand access to finance for Africa’s SMEs, which make up more than 90% of the continent’s enterprises but remain largely underserved.
“Structured trade finance is Africa’s ticket to turning unbankable deals into viable trade,” said Gwen Mwaba, Afreximbank’s Managing Director of Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking. “This seminar equips financial leaders with the tools to unlock growth at scale, especially in challenging conditions.”
Mwaba added that hosting the training within Africa provides a cost-effective platform for hundreds of professionals to gain global-standard expertise. “As global regulations tighten and international lenders scale back, Africa must strengthen its own capacity to deploy structured trade finance,” she said. “Bringing this training home allows professionals to access world-class knowledge without the high costs of similar programmes in London, Singapore, or New York.”
The three-day seminar will feature keynote speeches, expert-led workshops, and panel discussions on trade finance innovation, energy financing, and development banking. Among the sessions are:
“Unlocking Africa’s Trade Finance Potential: Expanding Supply While Reducing Costs,” presented by Marc Auboin of the World Trade Organization (WTO);
“Africa’s Emerging Role in Global Energy Finance,” by Sylvia Macri of S&P Global Commodity Insights; and
A workshop on Reserve-Based Lending led by Dr. Lekan Aluko of Petrovision Energy Services and Peter Olowononi of Afreximbank.
Other highlights include discussions on syndications, agency management, and the role of development banks in closing the trade finance gap.
The statement said that the full programme and registration details are available at https://atfs2025.afreximbankevents.com
Afreximbank, a pan-African multilateral financial institution headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, has for over 30 years provided innovative financial structures to promote intra-African trade and industrialisation. The Bank also supports the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) through initiatives such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund.
At the end of December 2024, the Bank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, with shareholder funds amounting to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank holds investment-grade ratings from GCR, Moody’s, CCXI, JCR, and Fitch.
