Nigerian businesswoman and entrepreneur, Mrs Aisha Maina, has secured a $40 million investment backed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to develop a deep-water port in Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis. The port project aims to establish a direct maritime trade corridor between Africa and the Caribbean, cutting transit time and costs while creating new economic opportunities for both regions.
Maina, who is the Managing Director of Aquarian Consult and founder of Gemini Integrated Commodities, signed the agreement on July 28, 2025, during the Afreximbank Afri-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Grenada. The historic signing took place in the presence of key stakeholders, including the Prime Minister of St Kitts & Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew, and the country’s Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Mr Samal Duggins, who represented the island nation.
Speaking at the ceremony, Aisha Maina described the project as a move from mere discussions to real action. “This port moves us 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,” she said.
Minister Duggins also welcomed the deal, calling it a bold step towards transformation. “Facility after facility, deal after deal, we are not just talking transformation; we are delivering it,” he said.
The proposed port will feature a Panamax berth and serve as the anchor for a 10-square-kilometre special economic zone in Basseterre. This zone will be dedicated to agro-processing, bonded warehousing, and light assembly. According to project details, feasibility and environmental studies will begin in August 2025, with financial close expected by the first quarter of 2026. The first container vessel is expected to dock at the port by the fourth quarter of 2028.
Maina explained that the new trade route would reduce Lagos-to-Basseterre shipping time to around seven days, bypassing the traditional but expensive detours through Europe. She noted that this efficiency would give African producers quicker and more direct access to markets in the Caribbean and North America.
“The private sector must lead this process. If we don’t, we will remain stuck where we’ve always been. Retreat or defeat are not options,” she said at the Caribbean Investment Forum in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 30.
She also gave a keynote address at the Trans-Atlantis Trade and Investment Symposium in Trinidad on August 3, where she emphasised the importance of connecting port infrastructure, economic zones, and finance mechanisms. She said this kind of integration was essential to tackle youth unemployment, strengthen food security, and drive Africa’s export diversification.
The port is expected to create 600 direct construction jobs and attract up to $300 million in private sector investments. For the small island nation of St Kitts & Nevis, which has a population of under 60,000 people, the project could transform it into a vital logistics and trade hub. The port is expected to link 19 African and 12 Caribbean Commonwealth countries, making it a strategic economic bridge across the Atlantic.
Maina’s company, Gemini Integrated Commodities, is co-investing alongside Afreximbank, meaning that the private sector will bear the execution risks of the project. This approach marks a shift away from government-led infrastructure projects to commercially driven and privately executed initiatives.
The new project also builds on momentum from recent engagements between Africa and the Caribbean. In March, the Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit was held in Abuja, Nigeria, while a trade mission in June saw over 120 Nigerian business leaders and policymakers fly to St Kitts aboard an Air Peace Boeing 777, further solidifying trade relationships between both regions.
The port will also serve as a value-addition hub, allowing African raw materials to be processed closer to American markets. This is expected to improve regional supply chains, reduce export timelines, and increase Africa’s footprint in global trade networks.
Aisha Maina’s leadership on this project has received commendation for pushing beyond policy discussions and taking practical steps to deliver results. As Africa and the Caribbean work to deepen their trade ties, projects like the St Kitts deep-water port may become central to the future of trans-Atlantic economic collaboration.
