Cayman firms answered the survey behind a new Africa-Caribbean trade report that names no Cayman opportunity.

The report, Reshaping Africa-Caribbean Trade: Opportunities for Economic Transformation, was launched on 3 November 2026 by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda. ITC is the joint trade agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Afreximbank is a pan-African lender that opened its first office outside Africa in Barbados in 2023.

The Cayman Islands is within the report's scope. Cayman businesses are listed among the respondents to its survey of 1,175 firms and business support organisations across Africa and the Caribbean, but the islands appear nowhere else in its 168 pages. Cayman is not among the Caribbean markets the report says African exporters should target, not among the Caribbean economies it says have goods or services to sell in Africa, and not among the countries it suggests for new partnership agreements with Afreximbank. A Cayman Islands Government delegation led by Johany "Jay" Ebanks MP, Minister for Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, attended CHOGM and its Commonwealth Business Forum, which closed on 4 November 2026, the Government said in a release on 2 November 2026. That release did not mention the report or any trade with Africa.

What the report found

The US$1.65 billion figure is the report's estimate of annual export potential between the two regions by 2030, excluding mineral fuels, not a forecast of actual trade. It breaks down into four parts. Africa's goods export potential to the Caribbean is put at US$539 million a year, of which only about 20% is currently realised. The Caribbean's goods export potential in Africa is put at US$499 million, of which 82% is already realised, and it rests almost entirely on ammonia and related fertiliser inputs shipped from Trinidad and Tobago. In services, the Caribbean has an estimated US$481 million of export potential in Africa, led by travel at 48%, or about US$231 million, with financial services at 9%. Africa has US$131 million of services export potential in the Caribbean, led by transport at 52%.

The report said trade between the regions is concentrated in a handful of countries. South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria together account for almost 60% of African exports to the Caribbean, and the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica are the principal Caribbean destinations. The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago account for the vast majority of Caribbean exports to Africa.

The survey behind the report covered 993 private businesses and 182 business support organisations. Private-sector interviews reached 31 African and 15 Caribbean countries. Business support organisations in 40 African and nine Caribbean countries also responded. The report said the results should be read as a large perception-based business survey rather than a statistically representative census of all firms in both regions.

The report builds on an earlier ITC-Afreximbank study, Expanding African-Caribbean Trade, published in 2022. It said that four years on, geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions and climate shocks had strengthened the case for diversified trade partnerships, and that businesses on both sides still faced high transport costs, limited market information, weak business networks, regulatory hurdles and restricted access to trade finance.

Where Cayman stands

Cayman's own trade figures show why the islands are hard to find in the report. The Economics and Statistics Office (ESO) Foreign Trade Statistics Report 2024 records goods imports of CI$1,654.04 million in 2024, of which CI$1,308.93 million, or 79.1%, came from the U.S. Jamaica, at CI$65.36 million or 4.0%, is the only Caribbean country among the 13 named sources. No African country is named. Imports from all other countries combined were CI$150.60 million, or 9.1%. Exports, which the ESO said consist largely of re-exports, were CI$56.4 million in 2024.

The ESO report covers merchandise only. The ESO said it is still developing statistics on trade in services, which is where Cayman's economy earns most of its income. The ITC report itself noted that most countries do not publish bilateral services trade data by partner, so any financial services or tourism business between Cayman and African clients is not measured on either side.

Cayman is an associate member of CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, rather than a full member. The report said 13 CARICOM member states have signed Afreximbank's partnership agreement and suggested that similar arrangements could be considered with other Caribbean economies, naming the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago. George Elombi, President and Chairman of Afreximbank, wrote in the report's foreword that the bank raised its global limit for the Caribbean from US$3 billion to US$5 billion in February 2026, and that four editions of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum, held in Barbados, Guyana, The Bahamas and Grenada, had generated more than US$6 billion in trade and investment deals.

The Government's position

Premier André Ebanks MP, who did not travel to Antigua, said in the 2 November release that the Commonwealth network offered Cayman access to markets. "The Cayman Islands brings recognised financial services expertise, strong institutions and international experience, while the Commonwealth's network gives us access to markets and capital," he said.

Jay Ebanks MP said the Ministry's focus at the forum was on infrastructure and energy. "Resilient infrastructure and reliable energy are essential to long-term economic stability across the Caribbean. Through the CWEIC Caribbean Hub, our Ministry is connecting regional priorities with investors, technical expertise and credible partners. Our focus is on identifying viable opportunities and pursuing the relationships needed to turn them into projects that benefit our communities," he said.

The delegation also includes Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose and Eric Bush, Chief Officer of the Ministry and Director, Caribbean Region, for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), the business network of the Commonwealth. The Government said the Cayman Islands serves as CWEIC's Caribbean Regional Hub.

What the authors want done

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of ITC, said at the launch that the case for regional trade had strengthened. "At a time of major shifts in global trade, countries need to strengthen regional ties and invest in value addition, to build resilience," she said.

Denys Denya, Senior Executive Vice President at Afreximbank, said the bank's Barbados office, about US$1 billion in approved transactions and the US$5 billion regional financing commitment were the tools for the job. "Africa and the Caribbean must transform a shared history into shared prosperity," he said.

The report warned against assuming that history alone would deliver trade. "The objective should not be to expand every trade flow or to assume that historical, cultural and geographic connections alone will generate sustainable commerce," it said. It called for near-term support where opportunities already exist: confirming promising products and markets, connecting credible buyers and suppliers, and helping firms with regulatory, logistics and financing barriers, with success measured in contracts and shipments.

The Government said discussions and introductions made during the Commonwealth Business Forum "will inform targeted follow-up on potential partnerships and investment opportunities, extending the value of Cayman's participation beyond CHOGM." CHOGM closed on 4 November 2026.