The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has extended a €110 million ($127 million) financing facility to Chad, its largest financing support to the country to date, as N’Djamena seeks to improve infrastructure, expand trade and diversify its oil-dependent economy.
The agreement was signed in Cairo on August 5 by Afreximbank President and Board Chairman George Elombi and Chad’s Senior Minister of Finance, Budget, Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, Tahir Hamid Nguilin. The facility will finance projects included in Chad’s 2026 state budget, particularly trade-enabling infrastructure and initiatives designed to strengthen economic activity.
Afreximbank said the financing would support projects intended to increase trade flows, improve economic resilience and advance Chad’s long-term transformation. The bank also linked the facility to planned investments in industrial zones for textile production and meat processing, transport connections with Egypt and Libya, electricity generation, crude-oil refining and the development of transport and maritime opportunities around Lake Chad.
“The credit facility is part of a financing programme aimed at supporting the government to deliver on priority projects,” Elombi said, describing the investments as important to creating jobs, building local wealth and changing the structure of Chad’s economy.
In turn, Nguilin said that the agreement reflected Afreximbank’s renewed confidence in Chad’s economic prospects. He added that the funds would help finance infrastructure and trade projects while supporting the government’s efforts to convert the country’s natural resources and economic potential into wider commercial opportunities.
The agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding signed by Chad and Afreximbank in June 2025. That framework identified cooperation in sectors including export-oriented agriculture, agropastoral development, gold trading, Lake Chad navigation, petroleum trading and refinery construction.
The deal also forms part of Chad’s broader “Chad Connection 2030” development agenda, which prioritizes industrialization, improved connectivity and stronger integration into regional and continental markets.
The two sides also discussed Afreximbank-backed industrial projects involving ARISE, an investment group active in African industrial development.
Chad’s economic outlook has improved, although the country remains exposed to oil-price volatility, limited transport links and significant development needs. A 2026 World Bank outlook projects GDP growth of 5.2% this year, supported by expansion in non-oil activity and oil-sector performance.
