Afreximbank’s Abuja Trade Centre secures highest global green building certification

The United States Green Building Council and Green Business Certification Inc. have certified the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) Abuja African Trade Centre (AATC) the prestigious LEED Platinum certification, the highest global standard in sustainable building design and construction.

The milestone establishes the Abuja AATC as the first building in Nigeria, the second in West Africa and the nineteenth across Africa to attain this level of recognition. It is also among the first large-scale trade and business centres on the continent to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum, highlighting Afreximbank’s commitment to embedding sustainability, innovation, and climate-smart practices into Africa’s trade infrastructure.

The Abuja AATC comprises two interconnected nine-storey towers designed to create a comprehensive ecosystem for trade, business, and innovation. One tower houses world-class commercial grade A office spaces, a trade and exhibition centre, a conference centre, a technology and SME incubator, a digital trade gateway, and a trade information services hub. The adjoining tower features a 148-room business hotel with seminar and meeting rooms, wellness facilities, a restaurant, and other ancillary amenities. The facility also accommodates offices for local and international financial institutions and policy organizations, providing a full facilitation system for trade and business development across the continent.

Read also: EXPLAINER: What to know about Afreximbank’s first-ever Africa Trade Centre opened in Abuja

Originally designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification, the Abuja AATC exceeded expectations due to the dedication, expertise, and intentionality of the project team, which included architects, designers, engineers, consultants, contractors, and Afreximbank’s Environmental Sustainability and Governance (ESG) and project management teams. Through meticulous planning, high-level sustainable construction methodologies, and seamless coordination among stakeholders, the project achieved LEED Platinum Certification on November 26, 2025, a recognition that reflects exceptional performance in sustainability, energy and water efficiency, and environmental stewardship.

LEED Platinum represents the highest standard for green buildings globally, signifying that the Abuja AATC meets stringent criteria across multiple categories, including energy use, water management, indoor environmental quality, materials selection, and sustainable site development. With 81 points earned, the Abuja AATC exceeds the threshold required for Platinum certification, demonstrating that it is among the most environmentally responsible, resource-efficient, and high-performing buildings in Africa.

The building integrates advanced sustainability features that reduce operational energy consumption by 40 to 50 percent compared to conventional buildings. High-performance glazing, energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, and intelligent building management controls ensure energy efficiency, while water-saving design elements reduce potable water use by at least 30 percent, promoting resource conservation in a high-demand urban environment. Waste management and recycling protocols support circular economy objectives, and sustainable transport facilities, including electric vehicle charging stations and bicycle infrastructure, which encourage low-carbon mobility. These features contribute to indoor environmental quality and directly align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including SDG Seven on clean energy, SDG Nine on industry, innovation, and infrastructure, and SDG 13 on climate action. Globally, green buildings of this standard can lower operating costs by 8 to 9 percent annually, strengthening long-term financial sustainability.

Read also: Afreximbank launches $120m trade centre in Abuja to spur regional integration

Robert Lumbuye Tomusange, director and Global head, Real Estate and Administration at Afreximbank, said: “The Afreximbank Abuja AATC’s attainment of LEED Platinum certification underscores Afreximbank’s unwavering commitment to sustainability, innovation, and climate-smart development. This milestone demonstrates that trade infrastructure can be both commercially competitive and environmentally outstanding, setting a new benchmark for Africa’s green building landscape.” The Abuja AATC now stands as a living demonstration of Afreximbank’s vision to integrate commercial competitiveness, innovation, and sustainability into Africa’s trade infrastructure. Its LEED Platinum certification advances Afreximbank’s ESG objectives by reducing the environmental footprint, enhancing social value through healthier and more inclusive workspaces, and reinforcing strong governance through adherence to globally recognised sustainability standards.

The building serves as a replicable model for responsible, low-carbon trade infrastructure across Africa, proving that commercial viability and environmental responsibility can coexist, and paving the way for future climate-smart trade and business centres across the continent.

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks.

She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.

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