The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is setting a bold new direction under its new president, George Elombi, who has announced the creation of a special financing window dedicated to processing Africa’s raw minerals into semi-finished and finished products.

The initiative, revealed during his swearing-in ceremony in Cairo on Saturday, marks one of the most ambitious industrialization drives in the bank’s history and a significant step toward reshaping Africa’s place in the global economic value chain.

Elombi declared that his administration would no longer tolerate the unprocessed export of Africa’s mineral wealth — a practice that has historically deprived the continent of industrial growth, skilled jobs, and economic resilience.

“No more Nigerian bauxite, or Gabonese manganese, or Cameroonian bauxite, or South African bauxite, raw. We are not interested,” he said. “We will focus on domestic processing. This has numerous benefits.”

He explained that the bank’s new strategic direction would center on building value chains that retain a greater share of Africa’s mineral wealth at home, stimulating local industries, and promoting technological advancement.

“Afreximbank will therefore create a new high-impact financing window, specifically for projects that process raw minerals into semi-finished goods or finished goods,” Elombi said.

Elombi also announced plans to launch a Strategic Minerals Development Programme, which will provide financing for the entire value chain — from extraction and refining to manufacturing. The programme, he explained, will prioritize cross-border projects that connect mining hubs with regional industrial zones.

He noted that historically, less than 20 percent of total investment in Africa’s mineral sector goes into actual mining operations, while more than 80 percent is channeled into supportive infrastructure like railways, ports, and power stations. The new Afreximbank initiative, he said, would focus on harmonizing these investments to deliver stronger industrial outcomes.

“Afreximbank will accelerate investments in critical trade-enabling infrastructure projects that directly connect African markets to one another,” Elombi added.

He indicated that the bank will also invest in modernizing seaports, highways, railways, pipelines, and logistics hubs, with priority given to infrastructure linking industrial and production centers with regional and global markets.

A Broader Economic Vision

Elombi’s remarks come on the back of a growing consensus among African policymakers and economists that the continent must break its long-standing dependence on raw commodity exports. For decades, Africa’s mineral wealth — including cobalt, lithium, copper, and bauxite — has been extracted and exported for processing abroad, leaving the continent with limited industrial output and minimal value capture.

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Africa’s contribution to global manufacturing remains under 2%, while its share of global trade stands below 3%, despite being one of the most resource-rich regions on earth.

The Afreximbank president’s declaration aligns with repeated calls from some of Africa’s leading economic voices — including WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina — for the continent to transition from exporting raw materials to refining and processing them locally.

Okonjo-Iweala has consistently argued that Africa must move beyond the traditional commodity-based model if it is to achieve sustainable growth. She has said that without value addition, African economies will remain vulnerable to global commodity price shocks and external dependence.

“We need to develop our processing industries to create jobs, boost intra-continental trade, and ensure we stop exporting raw materials without value addition,” she stated early this year.

Similarly, Adesina has warned that continued export of raw materials is “the door to poverty,” while value-added exports are “the highway to wealth.” Speaking in April, he said: “Africa must end the exports of its raw materials. The export of raw materials is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth. And Africa is tired of being poor.”

Economists say both leaders’ positions reflect the urgent need for Africa to capture more of the value from its resources — particularly as global demand for critical minerals surges due to the clean energy transition. With countries worldwide competing for cobalt, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements to power electric vehicles and renewable energy systems, Africa’s ability to process these minerals locally could redefine its role in the global economy.

Afreximbank’s proposed financing window is expected to support industrial plants, refineries, and midstream processing facilities that can transform raw materials into higher-value exports. The bank also intends to leverage public-private partnerships to mobilize funds for regional infrastructure, which Elombi said remains one of the continent’s biggest bottlenecks to intra-African trade.

By directly linking resource-rich regions with industrial zones, the initiative could also help expand the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a unified African market of 1.4 billion people. Economists believe that boosting intra-African trade through industrial integration could help the continent capture greater value from its resources and reduce dependence on foreign markets.

Shifting the Continental Economic Paradigm

Experts view Elombi’s industrialization agenda as a continuation of Afreximbank’s recent efforts to transform Africa’s trade ecosystem. The bank has been a key player in supporting the AfCFTA’s Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), designed to simplify cross-border transactions and reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar in African trade.

If successfully implemented, Afreximbank’s new mineral processing fund could serve as a catalyst for a broader industrial renaissance, creating jobs, stimulating technological transfer, and positioning African nations as competitive players in the global supply chain.

However, analysts caution that the success of this vision will depend on strong policy coordination, political stability, and technological investment.

Red Star Express Plc has nearly doubled its pretax profit to N371.2 million for the second quarter ended September 2025, up from N186.7 million in the same period last year, marking one of its strongest quarterly performances in recent years.

The company’s six-month pretax profit also climbed 98% year-on-year to N675 million, supported by rising revenue and a surge in other income.

Turnover for the quarter grew by 14.24% to N5.8 billion, bringing total revenue for the six months to N11.1 billion, up 14.9% year-on-year. The courier segment remained the company’s largest revenue driver, contributing N5.2 billion, followed by freight (N2.4 billion), logistics (N1.9 billion), and support services (N1.4 billion).

Strong operational growth amid rising costs

The company’s cost of sales rose by 8.27% to N4.7 billion, but this was outpaced by a sharp increase in gross profit, which reached N1.15 billion, up 47.74% from N781 million a year earlier.

Red Star’s other income rose 281.27% to N76.3 million, buoyed by sundry and non-core earnings, which helped offset increased administrative and operating expenses. These expenses climbed 47.89% to N829.7 million, reflecting higher logistics and maintenance costs amid inflationary pressures and rising diesel prices.

Operating profit grew 66.68% to N336.5 million, while finance income of N44.8 million more than covered finance costs of N10.2 million, leaving pretax profit at N371.2 million, up 98.83% from the previous year.

After-tax profit rose even more sharply, nearly doubling to N252.4 million from N126 million in the same quarter of 2024.

Resilient balance sheet and strong equity position

Total assets stood at N10.4 billion, up 1.55% from the previous period, with trade debtors of N3.1 billion and property, plant, and equipment valued at N2.9 billion forming the largest asset components. Total equity rose to N5 billion, driven mainly by retained earnings, which climbed 4.33% to N3.01 billion.

Liabilities were largely stable at N5.4 billion, up slightly from N5.3 billion, with other creditors and accruals (N2.9 billion) accounting for the bulk.

Red Star’s stock has been one of the strongest performers on the Nigerian Exchange in 2025, trading at N11 per share as of October 24 — a 149.43% gain year-to-date, signaling robust investor confidence.

E-commerce and logistics demand boost performance

Analysts attribute Red Star Express’s impressive results to rising demand for e-commerce deliveries and logistics services across Nigeria. With more businesses moving online and consumers increasingly relying on home deliveries, logistics companies like Red Star have experienced a steady rise in parcel volumes.

The company has also benefited from increased trade activity driven by the post-subsidy removal environment, where businesses are optimizing distribution networks to manage costs. Its freight and logistics segments, which saw higher utilization rates, have particularly contributed to the improved turnover.

Outlook: Expansion and digital transformation

Red Star Express’s ability to maintain profitability despite cost pressures is attributed to growing operational efficiency and diversification. The company has been expanding its warehousing and cold chain logistics capabilities, while also investing in technology platforms to enhance route optimization and customer tracking.

Nigeria’s courier and logistics market has grown rapidly in recent years, bolstered by digital commerce, fintech-driven payment systems, and an expanding consumer base. Red Star Express’s strong half-year results position it well to capture further market share as logistics and supply-chain solutions become critical to the nation’s post-pandemic economic structure.

With its profitability and equity base improving, analysts believe Red Star Express could be better positioned to attract institutional investors or explore capital market instruments to fund expansion in 2026, particularly in regional freight and express delivery services.

Access Holdings Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest financial services groups, has released its audited half-year financial results for the period ended June 30, 2025, reporting a pre-tax profit of N320.57 billion — an 8.12% year-on-year decline from N348.92 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.

Post-tax profit also fell by 23.25% to N215.92 billion, compared to N281.33 billion in H1 2024.

Despite the earnings drop, top-line performance remained solid. Gross earnings rose by 13.81% to N2.50 trillion, reflecting the Group’s robust revenue base and diversified operations.

“The financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2025, reflect the resilience of our business model, the diversification of our revenue streams, and the steady progress in executing our five-year strategic plan,” Access Holdings said in its report.

Banking Subsidiary Dominates Performance

The Group’s performance in H1 2025 was largely anchored by its banking subsidiary, which contributed the bulk of profitability, posting a pre-tax profit of N303 billion and a post-tax profit of N199.3 billion.

Interest income remained the key driver of growth, rising by 38.87% year-on-year to N2.04 trillion, representing over 58% of the full-year 2024 total. This growth was underpinned by stronger lending activities and higher yields on investment securities amid Nigeria’s elevated interest rate environment.

Interest income from loans and advances to customers grew by 36% to N944 billion, while earnings from investment securities jumped 46% to N956.56 billion, jointly accounting for over 93% of total interest income. This sharp rise in core earnings highlights the Group’s strategy of leveraging higher rates to maximize returns from its loan book and investments.

Interest Expenses and Impairments Pressure Bottom Line

Interest expenses grew at a slower pace than income, rising 10.53% to N1.10 trillion. Most of this came from customer deposits, which accounted for over 85% of the total. Deposits from customers increased marginally by 1.69% to N22.9 trillion, while deposits from financial institutions fell sharply by 47% to N4.94 trillion, reflecting reduced reliance on short-term institutional funding.

The resulting wide spread between income and expenses drove a 92% surge in net interest income to N984.63 billion. However, the Group faced heavier impairment charges, which rose 87% year-on-year to N230 billion. Loan loss provisions alone soared 240% to N209 billion, reflecting the impact of credit risk adjustments amid a challenging macroeconomic environment marked by inflationary pressures and currency volatility.

Even after accounting for impairments, net interest income after provisions stood at N754.56 billion — almost double last year’s level — reinforcing the Group’s strong core performance despite market headwinds.

Non-Interest Income and Subsidiary Growth

Access Holdings’ non-interest income also remained a bright spot. Fee and commission income grew significantly, driven by robust activity in digital channels and credit-related services. Credit-related fees rose 24% to N114 billion, while channels and e-business income surged 38% to N102 billion, reflecting growing digital adoption among customers.

Beyond the core banking business, the Group’s diversified non-bank subsidiaries delivered standout performances.

Access ARM Pensions recorded a 65.1% rise in pre-tax profit to N13.1 billion. At the same time, Hydrogen Payments — its financial technology arm — reported a 273% increase in pre-tax profit and processed N41.1 trillion in transactions, up 211% year-on-year. Access Insurance Brokers posted a 161% jump in pre-tax profit, with gross written premiums up 125%, while Oxygen X, the Group’s digital lending platform, generated N5.4 billion in revenue and N2.2 billion in profit.

Operating Costs and Market Factors

Despite strong revenue performance, higher operating expenses and a steep decline in fair value and foreign exchange gains weighed on profitability. Fair value and FX gains fell by 89% to N45.94 billion, from N407 billion in H1 2024, reflecting a tougher currency environment and lower revaluation gains.

Total assets rose 2.29% year-on-year to N42.45 trillion, supported by solid liquidity and a growing deposit base. Gross loans and advances to customers stood at N11.15 trillion, a slight 2.9% decline, as the Group adopted a cautious lending stance to preserve asset quality. Cash and cash equivalents rose by 10.09% to N5.75 trillion, highlighting improved liquidity buffers.

• Key Highlights (H1 2025 vs. H1 2024):
• Gross earnings: N2.499 trillion (+13.81% YoY)
• Interest income: N2.044 trillion (+38.87% YoY)
• Interest expenses: N1.060 trillion (+10.53% YoY)
• Net interest income: N983.63 billion (+91.79% YoY)
• EPS: N3.71 (-51.12% YoY)
• Loans and advances: N11.154 trillion (-2.90% YoY)
• Cash and cash equivalents: N5.748 trillion (+10.09% YoY)
• Total assets: N42.447 trillion (+2.29% YoY)
• Customer deposits: N22.905 trillion (+1.69% YoY)

Market Standing and Capital Strength

Access Holdings’ shares closed at N25 per share on Friday, October 24, 2025, representing a modest year-to-date gain of 4.82%. The Group remains one of the most capitalized financial institutions in Nigeria, having met and surpassed the Central Bank’s new recapitalization requirement. Its combined share capital and premium of N594.90 billion comfortably exceed the N500 billion threshold.

While profit dipped due to impairments and weaker FX gains, the strong revenue growth across banking and non-banking operations signals that the Group’s diversification strategy is taking root.

Analysts expect the Group’s continued expansion into payments, insurance, and pensions to buffer against future earnings volatility. The Group’s robust capital position also places it on a strong footing to sustain growth and absorb potential credit shocks in the second half of 2025.