The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) has commended the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) for its pivotal role in the empowerment of stakeholders in the book Industry.
The Secretary General of PAWA, Dr Wale Okediran, made the statement during the Ghana IATF2025 Business Roadshow organised by Afreximbank and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which took place in Accra, Ghana, on June 10, 2025.
The event which had high-level government officials, captains of industry and partners, as well as executives from both African institutions in attendance, was one of the planned business roadshows in Nairobi, Accra, Johannesburg and Lagos, leading to the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) that will be held in Algiers, Algeria, from 4 – 10 September, 2025.
Okediran, who was a panelist during the roadshow which featured speeches, a panel discussion and comprehensive presentation on the IATF2025 from industry experts and leaders, as well as networking sessions, confirmed that Afeximbank will be supporting African publishers and writers in some of their activities during the forthcoming IATF2025 in Algeria.
He emphasised that this kind of investment in the book Industry by the bank will go a long way in the promotion of regional cultural diplomacy as well as the economic transformation of Africa’s book industry.
While commending Afreximbank for this laudable gesture, the PAWA scribe charged the bank and other similar financial institutions to further assist stakeholders in the book Industry in the areas of capacity building, digital publishing, film adaptations of books, multilingual book productions as well as improvement in intra African and international trade for books.
Established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors as well as non-African investors, Afreximbank’s mission is to finance and promote intra- and extra- African trade.
