Afreximbank is positioning itself as a direct financing partner for Surinamese companies seeking to compete for oil and gas contracts, Acting Regional Chief Operating Officer for the Caribbean, Okechukwu Ihejirika, told OilNOW at Caribbean Energy Week in Paramaribo.
He pointed to access, not availability, as the core constraint facing local firms.
“These companies don’t have the capacity and capital to turn around rapidly and supplying all the things that are required in this sector,” Ihejirika said, explaining why smaller enterprises remain on the margins of major projects.
The bank’s US$5 billion Local Content Facility is being deployed to address that gap by enabling companies to pursue both large and small contracts without relying solely on state channels.
“They don’t have to apply through the government. We can talk with them directly, the ones with minimum threshold and they can also work through the local banks who are also our partners in this occasion. We fund the local banks and they can go ahead and create some financing for the local companies,” the official explained.
Ihejirika said the initiative extends beyond upstream oil and gas, targeting broader sectors where limited access to capital constrains participation and makes it difficult for locals to compete with foreign companies. “That is why we created this robust investment opportunity where we can identify the local Surinamese companies to be able to have a financial backbone to go in and bid for the big contracts and also the smaller ones so that they can keep on delivering,” he said.
Support is also tied to policy and institutional development. Ihejirika said, “As well as provide support that can enable the country to really build a practical local content policy, we can provide grants, services and support to the country to help enabling laws and peaceful implementation for these laws, so that ultimately it benefits the Surinamese economy.”
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Suriname formalized its relationship with the bank through legislation approved in 2025, following a 2022 agreement between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Afreximbank that made up to US$700 million available to member states for development financing.
Ihejirika indicated the financing framework is intended to remain in place as the sector expands.
“Oil is yet to stay. We want to see that the country keeps growing and developing so we don’t foresee this as a short time financial support. It is going to stay the whole route for sure.”
