- Afreximbank president calls for a unified $4 trillion ‘Global Africa’ economy
- New trade institutions to boost intra-African and diaspora commerce
ALGIERS, ALGERIA – Africa and its diaspora must unite to build a $4 trillion “Global Africa” market and end the legacy of colonial division, says Afreximbank president.
Speaking at the African Diaspora Day in Algiers, the head of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Benedict Oramah invoked the centenary of anti-colonial thinker Frantz Fanon, arguing that “unity is possible if there is the will.”
He said Africans at home and abroad had long been exploited despite their numbers and resources because they remained “divided, fragmented, and made to hate one another.”
Building a cohesive market
Oramah urged leaders to use their collective resources and knowledge to establish an integrated economy.
“With a population of about two billion and an estimated combined GDP of approximately 4 trillion US dollars, an integrated, ring-fenced economy of the people of African descent presents an unparalleled economic opportunity,” he said on the sidelines of the ongoing Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025).
He highlighted sport as one example of untapped economic power, noting that while Africans produce some of the world’s best athletes, “we have been sweat labourers while those who control the games and the talents smile to the bank as sweat merchants, getting rich as we get poorer.”
The Afreximbank chief announced the forthcoming launch of the Africa Trade and Distribution Company (ATDC), which he described as a mechanism to ensure Africans “begin to trade what Africa produces.” He also urged support for the Global Africa Commission, envisioned as the institutional driver of the initiative.
Pan-African and diaspora leadership
The Algiers event, which drew African heads of state, CARICOM representatives, and global financiers, set the stage for further discussions at the upcoming CARICOM-African Union summit in Addis Ababa on September 7.
“We see today’s events as pivotal in driving that new agenda,” Oramah said, calling the IATF a showcase of market opportunities across commodities, manufacturing, creative industries, and services.
He also floated plans for new cultural and sporting platforms, including a Global Africa Athletics Championship and an expanded Unity Cup to promote football among African and Caribbean countries.
Also, Oramah thanked Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for hosting the trade fair and urged leaders to canvass the Global Africa vision at the Addis summit.
