Afreximbank to hold maiden joint trade seminar in Botswana November

Mr Diop said compliance was vital to achieving sustainable trade.

Oyindamola Olubajo • September 22, 2026

Afreximbank [Photo Credit: Global Trade Review]

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced on Tuesday that it will convene the first joint Trade Finance Seminar and Compliance Forum in Gaborone, Botswana.

Afreximbank said in a statement that the event, organised in collaboration with the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), will be held from November 16 to 18 at the Gaborone International Convention Centre.

The bank said that the trade finance seminar, with the theme, “Trade Financing in the AfCFTA Era: Resilient Value Chains, Infrastructure, and Market Integration,” would explore ways trade finance can support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and reinforce regional trade and access to finance.

The executive vice president of Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank, Haytham El Maayergi, said the timing of ATFS2026 was auspicious, stressing that the AfCFTA’s success in creating a larger market depends on economies’ ability to finance trade, value chains, and infrastructure.

He stated, “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.”

Speaking on the compliance forum themed “Better Compliance, Better Trade: Leveraging Compliance to Promote African Regulations that Advance Intra-African Economic and Trade Integration,” the compliance director at Afreximbank, Idrissa Diop, said compliance was vital to achieving sustainable trade.

He stated, “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.”

The chief executive officer of the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre, Keletsositse Olebile, 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.”

Afreximbank said the event would bring together global policymakers, trade experts and regulatory officials.

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