Maina seals $40m Afreximbank deal to build St Kitts Port, lead Africa-Caribbean trade push

Maina seals $40m Afreximbank deal to build St Kitts Port, lead Africa-Caribbean trade push

Nigerian entrepreneur Aisha Maina, Managing Director of Aquarian Consult and founder of Gemini Integrated Commodities, has secured a $40 million investment—with backing from Afreximbank—to develop a deep-water port in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to strengthen trade and logistics between Africa and the Caribbean.

The port is a cornerstone project that will anchor a 10-square-kilometre Special Economic Zone (SEZ) focused on agro-processing, bonded warehousing, and light manufacturing. Feasibility and environmental studies will begin in August 2025, with financial closure targeted for the first quarter of 2026. The project is expected to create thousands of jobs and attract over $300 million in further private investments.

During the Afreximbank Afri-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum held in Grenada on July 28, Maina co-signed the $40 million Letter of Interest with both Afreximbank and the Saint Kitts and Nevis government. This agreement was witnessed by Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew and Agriculture Minister Samal Duggins. Maina emphasized that the port project represents a tangible shift from rhetoric to action: "from promise to throughput, from talk to tonnage."

This port is not only significant for Saint Kitts and Nevis—home to under 60,000 people—but also for West African exporters, as it reduces shipping times to the Caribbean to seven days, bypassing European routes and enabling end-to-end digital customs systems. The port will be Panamax-capable and scalable for future expansion.

Maina’s efforts extend beyond the port. She led a high-level trade mission through Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad, advocating for a new trans-Atlantic commercial bridge. She reinforced this message at the Caribbean Investment Forum in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and delivered a keynote at the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Symposium in Trinidad on August 3. Her speech linked the infrastructure project to broader development goals like youth employment, food security, and export diversification.

The initiative has been gathering momentum since the Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit in Abuja (March) and the June trade delegation of 120 Nigerian entrepreneurs to Saint Kitts. With major milestones now achieved in Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad, Aisha Maina’s vision is rapidly becoming reality—redefining African-Caribbean trade through strategic infrastructure and economic integration.