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The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and ZEP-RE have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen professional and institutional capacity in trade, insurance, reinsurance, risk management and trade facilitation across Africa.
The agreement brings together the Afreximbank Academy (AFRACAD) and ZEP-RE Academy to develop and expand learning, research and knowledge programmes that combine the institutions’ respective expertise.
The MoU was signed at ZEP-RE’s offices in Nairobi by Stephen Kauma, Group Managing Director, Human Resources at Afreximbank, and Jephita Gwatipedza, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at ZEP-RE.
By combining Afreximbank’s experience in African trade and trade finance with ZEP-RE’s expertise in insurance, reinsurance and risk management, the partnership will develop practical learning solutions for professionals, institutions and market participants across the continent.
The initiative is intended to strengthen the skills and institutional capabilities required to support Africa’s expanding trade and investment ecosystem.
Three strategic pillars for capacity building
The three-year partnership will be implemented through three strategic areas of collaboration.
Digital learning content development
AFRACAD and ZEP-RE Academy will jointly develop digital learning materials, including e-learning courses, toolkits and African case studies.
Through a shared “content factory” model, the institutions will identify priority themes and convert them into structured, reusable learning resources. The content will be made available through AFRACAD’s digital learning platform and/or ZEP-RE Academy’s Learning Management System, broadening access to relevant training across African markets.
Professional and executive development
The institutions will also design and deliver professional and executive development programmes covering areas such as risk and reinsurance, trade guarantees, trade facilitation, financial infrastructure and market development.
The programmes may include short courses, executive masterclasses, certification programmes and other structured learning formats delivered physically, virtually or through blended models.
Research and industry thought leadership
The partnership will support joint research, knowledge generation and thought leadership through studies, webinars, policy dialogues and industry forums.
These platforms will bring together practitioners, regulators, development partners and private-sector leaders to exchange expertise and develop practical responses to emerging challenges across African markets.
Afreximbank highlights role of institutional capacity
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Stephen Kauma, Group Managing Director, Human Resources at Afreximbank, said Africa’s ability to expand trade and investment depends not only on finance and infrastructure but also on the strength of its knowledge base and institutions.
“Africa’s ability to expand trade and investment depends on more than financial resources and infrastructure. It also depends on knowledge, skills and institutional capacity across our markets,” Kauma said.
He said AFRACAD had made capacity building a central part of Afreximbank’s mandate to transform Global African trade, adding that the partnership would combine complementary expertise in trade finance, insurance, reinsurance and risk management.
According to Kauma, the collaboration would support the development of practical, scalable and Africa-focused learning solutions capable of equipping professionals and institutions to drive increased trade and investment across the continent.
ZEP-RE links trade growth to risk management
Jephita Gwatipedza, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at ZEP-RE, said sustainable trade expansion requires institutions involved in financing and facilitating trade to understand, price and manage associated risks effectively.
“Trade cannot expand sustainably unless the institutions that finance and facilitate it can also understand, price and manage the risks involved,” Gwatipedza said.
He said the partnership would connect trade finance expertise with insurance and reinsurance knowledge to strengthen institutional capacity across African markets.
Gwatipedza added that the success of the initiative should be measured not simply by the number of programmes delivered, but by whether professionals and institutions become better equipped to support Africa’s evolving trade and investment landscape.
MoU builds on Trans-Africa Bond Alliance
The agreement builds on the existing relationship between Afreximbank and ZEP-RE. In 2025, both institutions launched the Trans-Africa Bond Alliance (TABA) to strengthen insurance capacity, facilitate cross-border trade and support the movement of goods and investment across African markets.
Since commencing operations in June 2025, TABA has supported approximately US$185m in bonds during 2025 and US$280m in the first quarter of 2026. The risks originated from 24 cedents across five countries.
TABA supports Afreximbank’s African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme (AACTGS) and the broader African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) trade facilitation agenda by promoting a harmonised and technology-enabled approach to transit guarantees across African borders.
The wider AACTGS is backed by US$1bn in guarantee limits, including a US$300m facility being implemented with ZEP-RE in the COMESA region.
The scheme is designed to reduce dependence on multiple national transit bonds, free up working capital tied up as collateral and improve the efficiency and predictability of cross-border trade.
The new MoU extends this collaboration into capacity building by strengthening the technical expertise and institutional knowledge needed to develop more sophisticated trade, insurance and risk-management solutions across Africa.
The partnership is expected to contribute to a stronger pool of African professionals capable of addressing complex issues at the intersection of trade, finance, insurance and risk, while supporting regional integration and sustainable economic development.
The MoU will initially run for three years and may be renewed by mutual agreement.
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