The Fourth AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2025) closed with more than $300 million in investment and trade agreements, reinforcing the growing economic and cultural ties between Africa and the Caribbean.
In a statement on its website, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) confirmed that eight major deals and memoranda were announced during the two-day gathering, covering infrastructure, tourism, digital transformation, and trade finance. These included multi-million-dollar agreements for road and port development, hotel construction, education projects, and SME financing, as well as partnerships to drive digital connectivity and strengthen the trade finance ecosystem.
Grenada’s Prime Minister said the region must create institutions capable of rebuilding trade, investment, and banking relationships on their own terms, moving beyond historical structures that were never designed to benefit them. He called for an end to visa restrictions and urged free movement of people between Africa and the Caribbean, arguing that advances in biometrics make such barriers unnecessary.
From the institutional side, Afreximbank’s incoming President, Dr. George Elombi, stressed that the focus should now shift from explaining the vision to acting on it. He underscored that finance remains the lifeline of trade and that integrated payment systems will help position the Caribbean as a unique and attractive opportunity.
The forum’s official communiqué welcomed the endorsement of the Global Africa Commission by Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and other OECS states, with plans for its formal adoption at the AU-CARICOM Summit in Addis Ababa this September. The Commission is expected to fast-track frameworks for trade, culture, and investment across the African diaspora and the continent. Participants also committed to pursuing a Free Trade Arrangement, lifting visa restrictions, improving air and maritime links, and expanding collaboration in the digital economy, sports, and creative industries.
ACTIF2025, co-hosted by Afreximbank and the Government of Grenada, attracted over 2,100 delegates from 80 countries, including 11 Heads of State and Government, senior officials, private sector leaders, and development partners. The communiqué described the forum as a pivotal step toward building resilient cross-regional value chains and confirmed that the ACTIF platform will continue with ACTIF2026.
