Afreximbank moves to turn state projects into bankable deals

Afreximbank will bring African state governments, investors and development finance institutions to Calabar, Cross River State, in November to explore funding opportunities for infrastructure, industrialisation and cross-border trade, as the bank seeks to turn regional investment proposals into bankable projects.

The sixth African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network  Investment Conference will hold from 12-14 November, 2026, at the Calabar International Convention Centre, with a focus on mobilising capital for projects that can expand intra-African trade and support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The conference is being organised by the African Export-Import Bank, in partnership with the Cross River State Government, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies in Nigeria.

Under the theme, ‘The Role of Sub-Sovereigns in Catalysing Development through Trade and Investment’, the event will focus on improving the capacity of state and regional governments to prepare commercially viable projects and attract private and institutional financing.

Afreximbank established AfSNET in 2021 to connect subnational authorities, including states, provinces, counties and municipalities, with investors and financiers. The initiative also seeks to extend the benefits of continental trade agreements to local economies and businesses.

According to the bank, the network has attracted more than 1,400 delegates across five editions, with participation from 21 African countries, and facilitated investment opportunities and transactions worth more than $3.2bn since its inception.

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Some of the projects associated with the initiative include a proposed $40m pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Kisumu, Kenya, and the $871m Nyanza Light Metals project in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, which is expected to produce titanium dioxide pigment.

In Nigeria, Afreximbank has been appointed financial adviser to the Cross River State Government on the proposed $1.7bn Bakassi Deep Seaport project, which is expected to improve maritime connectivity and support industrial and logistics development.

The conference will build on these initiatives by bringing governments and potential financiers together to identify investment opportunities and advance projects towards financing and implementation.

Cross River State Governor, Bassey Out, said hosting the conference would provide the state with an opportunity to present its investment opportunities to African and international investors and establish partnerships to support economic development.

Afreximbank’s Executive Vice-President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Kanayo Awani, said subnational governments were important to Africa’s economic transformation because infrastructure, production and investment activities were largely implemented at the local and regional levels.