From Guyana to Grenada, small businesses powering new Africa/Caribbean trade links

Small businesses are emerging as the true drivers of Africa/Caribbean trade and for Guyana, that means new opportunities for its entrepreneurs to connect with finance, markets and networks once out of reach.

Speaking at the 4th Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) in Algiers on Monday, Okechukwu Ihejirika, Head of Afreximbank’s Caribbean Office, made it clear that SMEs are central to the bank’s work in the region.

He disclosed that Guyanese firms are already in line for financing as Afreximbank moves from talk to deals on the ground.

“We only have to acknowledge the challenges of distance and size,” Ihejirika told participants. “But we are no longer dwelling on them. The question is—how do we navigate through them? Afreximbank has answered part of that by becoming the first African institution to invest directly in the Caribbean. And already, we’ve seen African companies doing deals in Grenada, in Trinidad and Tobago, even in Guyana.”

To make those links real, Afreximbank is rolling out partnerships designed to put SMEs at the centre. In Grenada, the bank signed a memorandum of understanding with the Grenada Development Bank, modelled on work already done in The Bahamas.

The arrangement will channel financial and technical support directly to SMEs that often struggle to access traditional financing.

“We will not only provide funding,” Ihejirika explained. “We will also offer technical interventions—engagement sessions, market access guidelines, and capacity-building support—so that SMEs can grow and play their full role in the economy.”

That emphasis on small business found strong backing from the Caribbean side.

Bahamas’ Minister for Grand Bahama, Ginger Moxie, pitched an ambitious Afro-Caribbean Marketplace to be built on Grand Bahama. She described it as a permanent space where all 55 African countries, every Caribbean nation and the 16 islands of The Bahamas will showcase authentic goods, culture and creativity.

“This is our opportunity to trade, to collaborate, and to be represented in a space that will welcome millions of visitors every year,” she said, stressing that the marketplace will give SMEs and creatives direct access to buyers while opening up warehousing and logistical links to North and South America.

For Guyana, its agro-processors, fashion designers, artisans and service providers could soon find themselves side by side with counterparts from across Africa and the Caribbean in new export markets.

Others at the session pressed the case for practical tools to back up that vision.

Nigerian entrepreneur Naziru Abdullahi of KK Kingdom Group called for special economic zones to serve as Afro-Caribbean trade hubs, while regional leaders like Dr Amany Asfour of the Africa Business Council urged participants to “map our strengths and trade among ourselves.”