Nigerian Entrepreneur Aisha Maina Secures Afreximbank-Backed $40m St Kitts Port Investment

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• Leads Separate Caribbean Trade Mission across Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad

Nigerian entrepreneur Aisha Maina has secured Afreximbank backed USD 40 million St Kitts port investment and leads a separate Caribbean trade mission across Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad.

Aisha Maina, Managing Director of Aquarian Consult and founder of Gemini Integrated Commodities, has completed an intensive week of engagements that unite policy, private capital and hard infrastructure around a single objective: building a reliable commercial bridge between Africa and the Caribbean.

The new port will anchor a 10 square kilometre special economic zone designed for agro-processing, light assembly and bonded warehousing. Feasibility studies begin in August, and financial close is targeted for Q1 2026. The facility is expected to create thou- sands of jobs and attract an additional USD 300 million in private investment.

For Saint Kitts & Nevis, a nation of fewer than 60,000 people, the project positions the federation as a logistics hinge between 19 African and 12 Caribbean Commonwealth members. For exporters in West Africa, it removes a costly European detour and delivers end-to-end digital customs visibility.

Three Strategic Touchpoints within one week are, Port signing in Grenada on 28 July, Caribbean Investment Forum in Jamaica on 30 July and Trans-Atlantic Symposium in Trinidad on 3 August.

Port signing in Grenada on 28 July: At the Afreximbank Afri-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Grenada, Maina co-signed a USD 40 million Letter of Interest with Afreximbank and the Government of St Kitts & Nevis. Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew witnessed the signing, while Honourable Samal Duggins, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, signed for the island nation. The agreement finances a Panamax capable deep-water port in Basseterre and a ten-square-kilometre special economic zone for agro-processing and light assembly.

“Africa and the Caribbean need assets, not just aspirations. With this port we move from promise to throughput, from talk to tonnage. It is the physical backbone of a trade bridge that has been too long in the making,” Maina said on stage.