The president of the African Export-Import Bank, George Elombi, has said African countries need to lower currency barriers and build up continental payment systems so that trade between them can grow, Arise News reported on Monday. In an exclusive interview with the outlet, Elombi said mismatched national currencies remain one of the biggest hurdles for businesses and traders moving goods and money across African borders. He pointed to trade between Nigeria and Benin Republic as a case in point.
Why it matters
Africa has dozens of separate currencies, and Elombi's argument is that this fragmentation makes everyday cross-border commerce harder than it should be. A trader who sells into a neighbouring country may be paid in a currency that is not the one needed to run a business back home. According to Arise News, Elombi described the problem through a simple example: a businesswoman in Benin who sells goods into Nigeria is paid in naira, but she needs CFA francs to operate in Benin. That gap between what a trader receives and what a trader needs is the kind of friction Elombi says holds back trade across the continent.
The remarks place the issue at the centre of Afreximbank's agenda. Elombi framed the removal of currency obstacles as a route to making trade between African countries easier over time, and he tied it to the bank's wider mission, according to the outlet.
A payment system decades in the making
Elombi told Arise News that Afreximbank has backed the creation of a continental payment system designed to smooth cross-border transactions for African businesses. He traced the idea back to 1963, when African heads of state first raised the need for a payment arrangement that would support trade across the continent.
He said the concept was not the invention of a French bank, as some might assume, but came from the shareholders themselves. According to the outlet, Elombi noted that the very first resolutions adopted at the inaugural meeting of the Organization of African Unity included a call for a payment system, and he praised the foresight of the leaders who made that decision. He also acknowledged how long it took to act on it, saying the continent has now reached the point of having such a system in place.
That system is the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, known as PAPSS. Elombi said it is now operational but still needs broader participation and expansion before it can deliver on its aims. He said the system must widen its reach and handle larger volumes, and he described that growth as the work Afreximbank is currently focused on. In his view, a fully developed payment system would, in time, help narrow the gaps between the continent's many currencies.
Trade fair built on the same vision
Elombi made a similar point about the Intra-African Trade Fair, which he said connects businesses and opens opportunities for companies to reach new markets across the continent. Like the payment system, he said, the trade fair grew out of decisions taken at the first meeting of African heads of state in 1963, and he noted the long gap between that early vision and its execution.
According to Arise News, Elombi said the aim now is to give real substance to the ambitions those leaders set out. Both initiatives, in his account, stem from the same recognition that stronger economic cooperation between African countries is worth pursuing.
The interview also underlined how closely the two projects are linked in Afreximbank's thinking: one addresses the mechanics of moving money across borders, the other the practical work of connecting buyers and sellers. Elombi's comments suggest the bank sees them as complementary tools rather than separate efforts.
What to watch next is whether PAPSS can draw in more participants and higher transaction volumes, the two measures Elombi himself identified as the test of whether the system delivers on a vision that dates back more than six decades.
