Algiers, Algeria, September 16, 2025 — The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the launch of the Africa Research and Innovation Hub (ARIH), a new initiative designed to drive innovation-led growth and unlock up to US$70 billion annually in economic gains for Africa.
The hub was unveiled during the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) in Algiers, where Afreximbank executives described it as a milestone for Africa’s scientific, technological, and economic future.
According to Afreximbank, ARIH aims to tackle the continent’s low investment in research and development (R&D) and its underperformance in research output by fostering innovation commercialization and strengthening linkages between academia, industry, policymakers, and investors.
Driving Africa’s Innovation Agenda
Speaking at the launch, Dr. Yemi Kale, Group Chief Economist and Managing Director for Research at Afreximbank, said the initiative represents a pivotal moment for Africa’s scientific ecosystem.
“The establishment of the African Research and Innovation Hub signals Afreximbank’s commitment to harnessing Africa’s homegrown talent and transforming intellectual capital into industrial competitiveness, trade expansion, and sustainable development,” he said.
Dr. Kale emphasized that Africa contributes less than 3% of global research output, despite facing urgent challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, and industrial competitiveness. He noted that a doubling of Africa’s R&D expenditure by one percent of GDP could unlock up to US$70 billion annually.
Supporting Sustainable Growth
The Afreximbank Africa Research and Innovation Hub is expected to catalyze technological sovereignty, intra-African trade, and structural transformation, supporting the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
At IATF2025, Afreximbank recognized 12 groundbreaking projects from Africa and the Caribbean, selected from more than 200 submissions. The awards, presented by Afreximbank Executive Vice President Kanayo Awani, highlighted the bank’s commitment to promoting scalable innovations capable of addressing Africa’s development challenges.
Dr. Anthony Coleman, Director for Development Research at Afreximbank, commended the winners and urged them to leverage ARIH as a springboard for advancing Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
“This hub represents a long-term platform for collaborative efforts among scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs to close Africa’s technology gaps and accelerate economic transformation,” he said.
Continental Support and Trade Impact
The ARIH launch drew participation from senior government officials, including Dr. Kamel Bidari, Algeria’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; Dr. Noureddine Ouadah, Minister of Knowledge Economy, Startups, and Microenterprises of Algeria; and Mr. Kamal Rezig, Minister of Foreign Trade and Export Promotion of Algeria.
The event formed part of IATF2025, which hosted over 112,000 visitors from 132 countries and recorded US$48.3 billion in trade and investment deals. The fair featured 2,148 exhibitors showcasing goods, services, and solutions across diverse sectors.
Unlocking Africa’s Potential
With ARIH, Afreximbank seeks to position itself as a catalyst for innovation-driven development across the continent. By bridging the gap between research and commercialization, the hub aims to strengthen Africa’s competitiveness, expand trade, and promote inclusive growth.
The unveiling of the Africa Research and Innovation Hub demonstrates Afreximbank’s recognition that Africa’s long-term competitiveness depends on homegrown solutions, not external dependency. By building structures that encourage innovation commercialization, the bank is seeking to bridge the gap between academic research and tangible economic outcomes.
The scale of the projected $70 billion in potential gains underscores how underutilized Africa’s research capacity has been. If properly harnessed, intellectual capital could become as significant a driver of growth as natural resources, shifting the continent’s economic base toward knowledge-driven industries.
Launching the hub at the Intra-African Trade Fair reflects the strategic link between innovation and trade. By embedding the initiative within one of Africa’s largest trade platforms, Afreximbank emphasizes that scientific research and technological development must feed directly into the broader AfCFTA goals of integration and expanded intra-African commerce.
The recognition of innovators from both Africa and the Caribbean signals a deliberate attempt to build a trans-Atlantic network of collaboration. This approach expands the innovation ecosystem beyond borders, encouraging South-South cooperation that could redefine Africa’s role in global technology chains.
Participation by senior government ministers in Algiers reinforces the idea that innovation is no longer seen as a niche academic pursuit but as a central pillar of economic policy. Their presence at the launch illustrates political will to align science, policy, and commerce in the drive toward structural transformation.
The hub’s focus on sustainability, food security, and industrial competitiveness places it directly within the framework of solving Africa’s most urgent challenges. Instead of viewing innovation as abstract, Afreximbank is presenting it as a practical tool for tackling climate change, boosting agriculture, and reducing reliance on imported technologies.
By championing research investment, the initiative challenges African states to raise their expenditure on R&D. It sets a benchmark for governments to view funding science not as a cost but as an investment with significant economic returns, potentially unlocking billions of dollars in value each year.
The broader implication of ARIH is that Africa is attempting to rewrite its economic narrative. Rather than being defined only by exports of raw commodities, the continent is increasingly positioning itself as a source of new ideas, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative enterprises capable of competing on a global stage.
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