Afreximbank, Bank of Agriculture sign $1bn deal for smallholder farmers

…$210m facility agreement with Zimbabwe ZETDC

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Nigeria’s Bank of Agriculture (BOA) have signed a $1 billion agreement aimed at supporting smallholder farmers across Nigeria.

The deal was announced at the ongoing 4th Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) in Algiers, Algeria, organised by Afreximbank, the African Union Commission, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

The agreement was signed by Ayo Sotinrin, CEO of the Bank of Agriculture, and Kanayo Awani, executive vice president, Intra-African Trade Bank at Afreximbank.

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The $1 billion facility will be used to develop a National Smallholder Farmers’ Fund, aimed at bridging critical financing gaps faced by smallholder farmers, who constitute about 95 people of Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.

Through this partnership, both institutions will provide blended finance solutions to enable smallholder farmers to access affordable credit for inputs, mechanization, processing, and market linkages. The initiative is expected to significantly boost productivity, enhance food security, and drive value addition in the agricultural sector.

In a related development at the trade fair, Afreximbank also signed a $210 million facility agreement with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC). The deal will support ZETDC in securing a dual-tranche trade loan aimed at improving power supply and reducing electricity deficits in Zimbabwe. Stable electricity is expected to drive growth in key sectors such as mining, manufacturing, and agriculture, ultimately strengthening the country’s economic performance and regional trade capacity.

Both deals underscore Afreximbank’s ongoing commitment to driving development and trade integration across the continent.

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ByHope Moses-Ashike

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Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.