“From Recession To Recovery: Tinubu Says Nigeria Now Leads Africa’s Economic Revival!”

President Bola Tinubu has stated that Africa possesses the population, abundant resources, and an unyielding spirit committed to achieving economic prosperity.

Welcoming participants to the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja on Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to leading Africa’s transition from economic reform to full recovery.

“From June 25 to 28, Abuja will host the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings — a gathering of Africa’s foremost leaders and committed partners under the theme, ‘Building the Future of Africa on Decades of Resilience.’ Africa has all it takes to thrive — its people, abundant resources, and an indomitable spirit. I invite you: take a chance on Nigeria. Take a chance on Africa,” Tinubu declared.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who formally opened the sessions, noted that developing nations face major challenges, including global divisions, commodity shifts, and climate change. Represented by Dr. Tope Fasua, Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, Shettima emphasized that Africa must evolve beyond resilience and shift toward renewable energy.

He stressed the need for mobilizing blended finance to attract private investment in infrastructure and green energy, strengthening regional value chains through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and deploying digital trade systems to lower costs and boost intra-African commerce. He also called for enhancing institutions like Afreximbank with more capital, modern governance, and risk-sharing mechanisms.

Shettima underscored the importance of inclusive development that benefits youth, small businesses, and female entrepreneurs.

During the presentation of the 2025 African Trade Report, Afreximbank’s Group Chief Economist, Dr. Yemi Kale, urged African leaders to build solutions tailored to Africa’s specific market dynamics and harness digital technologies to improve efficiency. He noted that 15 African central banks have already joined the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

Kale also stressed that African voices must play a stronger role in shaping the global financial rules that influence trade financing. The reports — 2025 African Trade Report and 2025 African Trade and Economic Outlook Report — call for a more vigorous implementation of the AfCFTA, going beyond ratification to active trade facilitation.

Highlighting the importance of scaling Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Kale said Africa must strengthen its DFIs to make them more impactful. He also emphasized the need to invest in infrastructure — especially digital logistics — and widen access to trade finance tools to close funding gaps, especially for SMEs and industrial hubs, which are critical to the continent’s industrialization.

In 2024, Kale revealed, Afreximbank disbursed around $18.7 billion to support industrialization and trade resilience across Africa.

The report outlines key macroeconomic and trade trends driving Africa’s recovery and identifies sustainable growth opportunities amid global and local economic uncertainties. Despite ongoing global fragility, Afreximbank projects Africa’s real GDP growth at 4.0% in 2025, rising to 4.1% in 2026 and 4.2% in 2027.