Former President Nana Akufo-Addo has defended the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), describing it as a critical partner in Ghana’s economic survival, especially during the devastating economic fallout of COVID-19.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja, Nigeria, during a high-level conversation involving current and former African heads of state, he revealed that when Ghana was shut out of the global capital markets, only Afreximbank stepped up.

“At a time when no one would help us—when the markets were closed, and even friendly nations turned their backs—Afreximbank and Professor Oramah came to our rescue,” Akufo-Addo said.

“They gave Ghana $750 million in 2022, and that money helped keep our economy afloat.”

He credited the bank’s intervention with averting further economic collapse. “That is why the people of Ghana, and I as a former president, will always be grateful to Afreximbank for what they have done.”

The $750 million extended in July 2022 was part of a broader effort by Ghana to raise $1 billion to fund capital expenditures and support the cedi.

Projects funded included the Ofankor-Nsawam Road, with the loan helping close funding gaps created by pandemic-induced shocks and a ratings downgrade that blocked Ghana’s access to international capital markets.

However, relations between Ghana and Afreximbank have recently been strained. The government’s inclusion of Afreximbank’s debts in a broader commercial debt restructuring plan, triggered by its IMF-backed bailout, has triggered a standoff. Ghana insists the bank is not a multilateral institution and should not be excluded.

Afreximbank disagrees, arguing it meets the multilateral criteria and should be spared from debt haircuts.

This disagreement contributed to Fitch’s June 2025 downgrade of Afreximbank’s credit rating to just above junk, citing the uncertainty created by Ghana and Zambia’s debt stance.

Even so, government officials at the Abuja meeting told JOYBUSINESS that positive progress has been made toward resolving the dispute.

Beyond the COVID-era loan, Afreximbank has extended over $2 billion in total assistance to Ghana.

These include foreign exchange liquidity support, syndicated loans to COCOBOD, and energy sector financing for the Volta River Authority during the 2014 power crisis.

During the panel, Akufo-Addo took aim at international ratings agencies, questioning their fairness toward African nations.

“We are being asked to pay unjustified risk premiums because we are African,” he said. “Countries in similar conditions elsewhere get better ratings.”

He called for the establishment of an African-owned ratings agency to ensure assessments reflect the continent’s unique dynamics.

“It’s time for Africa to tell its own story with institutions that understand our realities,” he added.

Touching on broader issues of financial sovereignty, the former president warned that Africa’s development will remain stunted if it continues to rely on foreign-controlled institutions.

“If we don’t control the institutions of finance, we will never control our own development,” he stressed.

Akufo-Addo ended by reminding fellow leaders of a proposal he made at the African Union: that member states commit 30% of their sovereign reserves to African multilateral institutions.

“These funds are lying idle with foreign entities earning zero interest while our countries scramble for loans,” he said.

“Let’s build more institutions like Afreximbank—because when the world turns its back, they stand with us.”