Information Americas, ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Mon. Aug. 4, 2025: Aisha Maina, Managing Director of Aquarian Seek the advice of and founding father of Gemini Built-in Commodities, has accomplished an intensive week of engagements, capped by a USD 40 million deal to construct a Panamax deep-water port and particular financial zone in Basseterre, St. Kitts, that unite coverage, non-public capital and exhausting infrastructure round a single goal: forging a dependable business bridge between Africa and the Caribbean.
The brand new port will anchor a ten sq. kilometre particular financial zone designed for agro-processing, gentle meeting and bonded warehousing. Feasibility research start in August, and monetary shut is focused for Q1 2026. The ability is anticipated to create 1000’s of jobs and appeal to a further USD 300 million in non-public funding. For Saint Kitts & Nevis, a nation of fewer than 60,000 individuals, the venture positions the federation as a logistics hinge between 19 African and 12 Caribbean Commonwealth members. For exporters in West Africa, it removes a pricey European detour and delivers end-to-end digital customs visibility.
One Week, Three Strategic Touchpoints
1. Port Signing In Grenada – July twenty eighth
On the Afreximbank Afri-Caribbean Commerce and Funding Discussion board in Grenada, Maina co-signed a USD 40 million Letter of Curiosity with Afreximbank and the Authorities of St Kitts & Nevis. Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew witnessed the signing, whereas Honourable Samal Duggins, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Assets, signed for the island nation. The settlement funds a Panamax-capable deep-water port in Basseterre and a ten-square-kilometre particular financial zone for agro-processing and light-weight meeting.
“Africa and the Caribbean want property, not simply aspirations. With this port we transfer from promise to throughput, from speak to tonnage. It’s the bodily spine of a commerce bridge that has been too lengthy within the making,” Maina stated on stage.
Duggins added: “Recent off the Afri-Caribbean Trade, I proudly signed a landmark Letter of Curiosity with Afreximbank. Facility after facility, deal after deal, we’re not simply speaking transformation; we’re delivering it. The imaginative and prescient is obvious, the progress is actual, and the longer term is now.”
2. Caribbean Funding Discussion board In Jamaica – July thirtieth
From Montego Bay’s fundamental stage, Maina confirmed that feasibility and environmental research for the Basseterre port will start in August. She outlined a hall that cuts Lagos-to-Basseterre crusing instances to about seven days, eliminating pricey European detours.
“If non-public sector doesn’t take cost of the method, we’ll stay the place we’ve got been. Retreat or defeat will not be choices,” she informed delegates.
3. Trans-Atlantic Symposium In Trinidad – August third
Maina closed the week in Port of Spain, delivering the keynote “Why Caribbean and Africa Commerce and Funding and Financial Cooperation Matter” on the Trans-Atlantic Commerce and Funding Symposium organised by the Emancipation Help Committee of Trinidad and Tobago. She related port logistics, economic-zone clustering and new financing instruments to broader targets of youth employment, meals safety and diversified exports.
Undertaking Snapshot
| Metric | Element |
| Preliminary finance | USD 40 million |
| Berth capability | One Panamax berth, expandable to 2 |
| Development jobs | 600 direct positions |
| Observe-on capital | USD 300 million projected non-public funding |
| Research launch | August 2025 |
| Monetary shut | Q1 2026 |
| First container | This autumn 2028 |
Regional and World Implications
- Shorter transit instances – Direct sailings take away European detours and decrease freight prices.
- Worth-addition hub – The particular financial zone lets African uncooked supplies be processed nearer to North American markets.
- Commonwealth relevance – One of many Commonwealth’s smallest states will host a strategic maritime asset linking 19 African and 12 Caribbean members.
- Personal-capital management – Gemini Built-in Commodities co-invests with Afreximbank, inserting execution threat on balance-sheet homeowners slightly than coverage desks.
Background
Momentum started in March with the Afri-Caribbean Funding Summit in Abuja, adopted by a June constitution of an Air Peace 777 carrying 120 Nigerian entrepreneurs and policymakers to Basseterre. The Grenada signing, Montego Bay affirmation and Trinidad keynote now merge these earlier steps right into a single infrastructure roadmap.
About Aquarian Seek the advice of
Aquarian Seek the advice of is a Nigeria-based advisory and funding agency specialising in commerce facilitation, human-capital growth and infrastructure. By way of Gemini Built-in Commodities, the corporate designs and executes initiatives that join African markets to international worth chains, with a concentrate on Africa-Caribbean integration.
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