Whither African-Caribbean trade

ONE OF the panels at the Africa Caribbean Symposium held inside the Half Moon Conference Centre in Montego Bay, St James on Tuesday, July 8, was entitled, ‘Trade and Finance as a Bridge’ under the theme of, ‘Financing Afro-Caribbean Trade and Growth’. It was moderated by Humphrey Oriakhi, CEO, PAC Capital in Nigeria.

The other panellists were Esmond Reid, ambassador of Jamaica to CARICOM; Keith Levy, chairman JN Bank Limited; Janet Olisa, former Nigerian high commissioner to Jamaica; Okechukwu Ihejirika, acting chief operating officer, Caribbean Office, Afreximbank; and Sonja Linton, vice president, exports, Jampro.

Two of the issues arising were about the current CARICOM or African Union (AU) frameworks that could be activated to unlock Afro-Caribbean trade and investments, and given the structural limitations the extent to which CARICOM can promote creative collaborations including shared warehousing, co-production zones, or joint ventures.

STRONGER ACTIVATION

As it relates to the former. There are several frameworks, both at the CARICOM and AU levels, that offer platforms for action, but they require stronger activation and cross-linking. On the CARICOM side, the Caribbean Community’s Strategic Plan for Regional Development calls for diversified international partnerships and enhanced external trade. This can be leveraged to prioritise Africa more deliberately in CARICOM’s external economic agenda.

There are CARICOM’s existing bilateral trade instruments, such as those with Colombia and the Dominican Republic. They provide precedents for modular agreements that could be replicated with African partners. It is believed that these frameworks can be expanded through Afro-Caribbean scope agreements or investment treaties.

Concerning the AU, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a powerful unified market. CARICOM countries, though not members, can be involved through observer mechanisms or propose CARICOM-AfCFTA cooperation dialogues on trade facilitation, services, and investment.

Also, CARICOM and the AU have committed to South-South Cooperation through the G77 and UN frameworks. These commitments might be backed by a dedicated Afro-Caribbean Trade and Investment Council, with business and finance stakeholders included, not just policymakers.

What is needed is not more frameworks, but activation of existing ones, through institutional dialogue between CARICOM and all AU secretaries; targeted trade missions, and policy roundtables, and finance-backed instruments to enable real business uptake. For the second issue, what CARICOM can do is to promote collaborative infrastructure models tailored for small economies.

There can be transshipment and storage agreements in key gateways ports, such as in Jamaica, Barbados, or Guyana, for African exporters looking for access to Latin and North America. In reverse, Caribbean goods can go through African trade hubs, perhaps in Ghana or Senegal for access into the Economic Community of West African states.

Using special economic zones, CARICOM can invite African investors or firms into co-production partnerships, for example, blending Caribbean raw inputs with African value addition. These models can be piloted in Jamaica’s special economic zones or Guyana’s emerging industrial zones.

In areas like agri-processing, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy, joint financing through regional development banks like the Caribbean Development Bank and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) should be incentivised. The Afreximbank’s Caribbean Office is a game-changer, and its instruments should be strongly tied to joint venture developments in key value chains.

CROSS-BORDER SERVICE DELIVERY

There is also the notion that trade does not have to always require ship, and that CARICOM can support virtual business to business, e-commerce corridors, and fintech solutions linking African and Caribbean small and medium enterprises for cross-border service delivery, co-design and intellectual property sharing.

And, to accelerate trade, investment and economic growth, Afreximbank will be holding the 2025 AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum to (ACTIF2025). It will be hosted by the government of Grenada at Radisson Conference Centre in St Georges.

This, the fourth iteration of ACTIF will be held from July 28 to 29 under the theme, ‘Resilience and Transformation: Enhancing Africa-Caribbean Economic Cooperation in an Era of Global Uncertainty’. ACTIF2025 is Afreximbank’s flagship initiative to drive commercial, economic and cultural ties between Africa and the Caribbean.

ACTIF2025 is expected to welcome about a thousand delegates, including heads of state, senior government officials, private-sector leaders, development finance institutions, and diaspora investors from across Africa, the Caribbean, and other regions. The forum will focus on several key areas, such as strengthening trade and investment, fostering partnerships, promoting information exchange, developing a potential African-Caribbean free trade area, and reducing risk perception.

It will spotlight key sectors, such as agribusiness, energy, infrastructure development, logistics, creative industries, tourism, health, manufacturing, and financial services, promoting regional value chains and facilitating trade and investment to unlock these opportunities.