By Emmanuel Nduka
As part of efforts to mitigate severe economic shocks from the escalating Middle East conflict, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme (GCRP).
According to the statement, the initiative is designed to protect African and Caribbean economies, financial institutions, and corporations from the ongoing crisis.
The conflict, which intensified on February 28, 2026, has sent shockwaves through the global economy, with African and Caribbean nations particularly affected. The Gulf region’s critical role as a supplier of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and fertilizers, and the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, has meant that disruptions there have wide-reaching repercussions for trade and energy security.
According to the statement, nations heavily dependent on fuel, fertilizers, and food imports, as well as those reliant on Gulf shipping routes, have experienced significant economic strain. The crisis has also disrupted investment, tourism, and remittance inflows.
The GCRP aims to ensure continued access to essential imports such as fuel, LNG, food, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals by providing short-term foreign exchange and liquidity support to vulnerable member states. The programme also seeks to help African energy and minerals exporters take advantage of higher commodity prices and rerouted trade flows by offering pre-export finance, working capital, and inventory financing.
Additionally, according to the statement, the programme offers relief to African and Caribbean nations whose tourism and aviation sectors have been affected. It also supports medium- to long-term resilience by accelerating energy, port, and logistics infrastructure projects delayed by the conflict.
Afreximbank President and Board Chairman George Elombi said: “This crisis response programme is in tune with our DNA. We understand how our economies work and the pain points associated with these transitory crises. The programme will support African countries in adjusting smoothly to the crisis while strengthening their resilience to future shocks through interventions that transform the structure of their economies”.
According to the statement, the GCRP builds on Afreximbank’s previous emergency interventions, including the $4 billion Ukraine Crisis Adjustment Trade Financing Programme (Ukafpa), which disbursed $39 billion to help African countries bridge liquidity gaps and access essential goods during the 2023–24 Ukraine crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2015–16 commodity crisis.
The statement further noted that Afreximbank is collaborating with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and the Caricom Secretariat to strengthen regional coordination on energy security, trade resilience, and supply chain diversification.
Through the GCRP, Afreximbank has already started partnerships with banks and corporations to secure fuel, energy, fertilizers, and food imports interrupted by the ongoing conflict.
