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The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has extended its largest-ever financing package to Chad, providing a $127 million (€110 million) facility, in local-currency equivalent, to back the country’s economic development.
Under the terms of the agreement, proceeds from the facility are to be deployed by the Chadian government toward trade-enabling infrastructure projects that have been approved under the country’s 2026 Finance Law. Afreximbank said the facility is designed to promote trade flows, strengthen economic resilience, and support strategic infrastructure that is central to Chad’s longer-term trade and development goals.
Honourable Tahir Hamid Nguilin, Senior Minister, Minister of Finance, Budget, Economy, Planning and International Cooperation of Chad, said, “This financing demonstrates Afreximbank’s renewed confidence in our country’s economic prospects and its ability to harness its potential. The resources mobilised will contribute to financing critical trade-enabling projects included in our national budget, particularly in the areas of infrastructure and the development of trade.”
The financing forms part of a broader programme intended to help the government deliver on a set of priority projects. These include special industrial zones for textile manufacturing and meat processing, transport links connecting Chad to Egypt and Libya, power-generation capacity, the creation of crude oil refining capacity, and transport and maritime opportunities around Lake Chad, among other initiatives.
Afreximbank, the pan-African multilateral trade finance institution that supports intra-African and global trade for the continent’s economies, said these investments are expected to help reshape the structure of the Chadian economy while generating sustainable employment and wealth for its population.
“The credit facility is part of a financing programme aimed at supporting the government to deliver on priority projects, including special industrial zones for textile manufacturing and meat processing, transport infrastructure to connect Chad to Egypt and Libya as well as power generation, creation of crude refining capacity, and creation of transport and maritime economic opportunities in Lake Chad, among others,” said Dr George Elombi, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank.
He added, “These investments will contribute to changing the structure of the Chadian economy and create sustainable employment and wealth for the Chadian people. With these investments, we are steadily placing Africa’s development future in the hands of the African people.”
The proceeds from this facility will help Chad transition from heavy reliance on crude oil revenues and create a more diversified and resilient economy. For Afreximbank, the facility aligns with its wider strategy of channelling capital into projects that support industrialisation, regional connectivity and trade diversification across African economies.
The Chad facility lands just weeks after the bank concluded $190 million in financing for Zimbabwe’s CBZ Bank across three separate agreements, split between a $150 million revolving trade facility, a $20 million SME finance package, and a $20 million on-lending facility aimed at easing power shortages in Zimbabwe and the wider SADC region.
Late last month, Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme partnered with Addis Ababa-based tech company Gebeya to launch a $50,000 “Create-thon” competition for African music, video, and gaming creators, with winners set to be showcased at CANEX WKND in Lagos in November.
The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the equity investment arm of Afreximbank, which has deployed more than $1.3 billion into African companies and projects, saw major leadership change with long-time leader Emmanuel Assiak elevated to CEO role. These actions and the Chad facility showcase how the bank is transforming the continent by leaning further into infrastructure, industrial, and creative-economy financing.
