by Kari Grenade, PhD, Caribbean Economist and Macroeconomic Adviser
The 4th edition of the Africa Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) took place in Grenada on 28–29 July 2025.
The conference gathered delegates from the private sector, public sector, and other development stakeholders from both the Caribbean and Africa to discuss contemporary issues relating to trade, investment, and connectivity between the 2 regions.
Under the theme Resilience and Transformation: Enhancing Africa-Caribbean Economic Cooperation in an Era of Global Uncertainty, ACTIF showcased a bold shift from aspirational rhetoric towards practical results-oriented cooperation. Several agreements amounting to US$290 million were executed across key sectors, including infrastructure, tourism, education, and trade. Notable projects include a US$100 million loan for road rehabilitation in The Bahamas and a US$50 million climate-linked education initiative in St Kitts and Nevis. A US$250 million Growth, Resilience, and Sustainability Fund was established as a blended finance mechanism to be jointly managed by Afreximbank and the Caricom Development Fund, with the aim of supporting climate adaptation and sustainable development in Caricom countries. Additionally, US$24 million was committed to a film and training hub in the OECS.
Afreximbank also committed US$250 million to co-finance a world-class hospital and medical city in Grenada.
I had the privilege of moderating a panel, which explored critical issues related to infrastructure deficits in both regions and actionable recommendations to address them including concessional financing, capacity building, partnerships, regulatory and institutional strengthening, and mainstreaming resilience into infrastructure planning. In the context of new climate realities, digital frontiers, the just energy transition, and new industrialisation, for example, infrastructure is considered not just as a physical asset, but as a strategic instrument for resilience, inclusion, and generational progress for the peoples of both regions.
I am hopeful that ACTIF 2025 will help to reshape Africa-Caribbean relations in profound and lasting ways. With 11 Caricom countries ratifying Afreximbank’s Partnership Agreement, the bank now has a mandate to operate and invest regionally, which is a game-changer for development financing in the Caribbean. ACTIF 2025 wasn’t just a forum, it was a declaration of intent. Africa and the Caribbean are now advancing beyond their shared history (one of shared pain) and symbolic connections. Both regions are collaboratively shaping an ambitious vision focused on resilience and prosperity for their populations. They are fostering a new era of partnership and mutual economic development and in so doing, they are building a new Middle Passage rooted in trade, innovation, and shared prosperity.
