African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is financing three additional refineries in Nigeria beyond the Dangote project as part of a strategy to boost local refining capacity and reduce the country’s reliance on imported petroleum products, a top official has disclosed.
Mr Denys Denya, the bank’s Senior Executive Vice President, made this known during a virtual media briefing on Monday focused on Afreximbank’s 2025 financial performance, crisis response initiatives and industrialisation drive.
Denya said the refining investments aim to shield African economies from global supply disruptions, particularly those linked to Middle East tensions that have escalated fuel import costs.
“We are also financing refining on the continent, which will alleviate the importation of refined products. We are not only supporting Dangote; we’re supporting three other refineries in Nigeria,” he stated.
The bank has rolled out a $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme to stabilise access to essentials like fuel, food, fertilisers and pharmaceuticals, with uptake already recorded in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Denya highlighted Afreximbank’s dual focus on short-term trade finance through enhanced letters of credit and long-term projects to tackle structural import dependence, including similar refining efforts in Angola.
He noted Nigeria’s potential gains from high global oil prices as a crude exporter, alongside local refining reforms that could ease domestic inflation and foreign exchange pressures.
The bank is backing the naira-based crude supply framework for Dangote Refinery, enabling refined product sales in local currency to further relieve forex market strains.
Beyond large-scale projects, Afreximbank is scaling SME financing and capacity building to generate employment and ensure macroeconomic benefits reach ordinary citizens through supplier payment programmes.
Denya announced robust 2025 results with total assets hitting $48.5 billion, up 21 per cent, and net income rising 19 per cent to $1.2 billion, 92 per cent from core operations.
The bank raised a $2 billion syndicated facility from 31 global lenders, underscoring investor confidence, while preparing a 2027-2031 strategic plan centred on value addition for Africa’s economic sovereignty.
Afreximbank’s push into refining, infrastructure and intra-African trade underscores its commitment to reducing external dependencies and anchoring the continent’s structural transformation.
