The African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) says it aims to double its financing of intra-African trade to 40 billion dollars on a revolving basis by 2026, up from 20 billion dollars in 2021.
Mrs Kanayo Awani, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, spoke at the Intra-African Trade Fair 2023 (IATF) Nigeria High Level Business Roadshow on Monday in Lagos.
The IATF2023 scheduled for Nov. 9 to Nov.15, 2023, in Egypt, is organised by Afreximbank, African Union Commission and the Africa Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
The event is a platform for businesses to access an integrated African market of over 1.3 billion people with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over 3.5 trillion dollars created under the AfCFTA.
Awani said that Afreximbank was not only spearheading the IATF to support the AfCFTA, but was also at the forefront of supporting African trade and have developed several financing and facilitation instruments to support trade and investments.
She said the bank was working with the AfCFTA Secretariat to put in place the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund to facilitate and provide support through financing, technical assistance, grants and compensation funding to AfCFTA State Parties and private enterprises.
This, she explained, would aid their adaptation and effective participation in the AfCFTA.
“The Board of Afreximbank has approved and committed one billion dollars to support the funding of the initiative and a 10 million dollars grant that will facilitate the establishment and operationalisation of the Adjustment Fund.
“We are also partnering with the AfCFTA Secretariat and AU to ensure a successful implementation of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS), with the view to facilitating the payment and settlements of trade transactions in local currencies.
“This will address the challenge of currency inconvertibility and foreign exchange shortages that hamper intra-African trade,” she said.
Awani added that Afreximbank was also leveraging digitalisation through the African Trade Gateway (ATG); a digital ecosystem created to facilitate intra-African trade.
According to her, the ecosystem comprises an integrated and function-specific set of platforms that help surmount impediments to cross-border trade.
She said to facilitate the movement of goods, Afreximbank developed the Afreximbank African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme to ensure seamless transportation of goods across multiple borders, through the issuance of a single technology enabled transit bond.
She said the scheme backed by a one billion dollars commitment provided by Afreximbank would lead to cost savings of more than 300 million dollars yearly.
“We have also created an African Trade Facilitation Programme (AFTRAF), through which we are forging strong partnerships with African commercial banks to help them finance intra-African trade.
“The Bank is also working with the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM), African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop a viable automotive industry in Africa.
“In this context, Afreximbank has developed a one billion dollars Global Automotive Financing Facility for the automotive industry.
“We are also providing support in terms of facilitating the development of regional value chains and the implementation of the Continental Automotive Strategy that was adopted by Trade Ministers early this year.
“The Bank is also working with the International Trade Centre to train African companies including SMEs on how to export under the AfCFTA.
“The training programme provides trade and market information to assist the businesses to identify export opportunities, how to comply with all the export requirements under the AfCFTA as well as how to access finance, payment and settlement, among others,” she said.
Awani reiterated the bank’s commitment to working with member states countries to position them to take advantage of the AfCFTA.
She said to support Nigeria’s industrialisation and export development efforts, Afreximbank has invested over 36 billion dollars into the Nigerian economy since its creation in 1993 through its trade and projects financing.
This support, she stated, covered a range of sectors and industries, including, among others, energy, transport, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and trade infrastructure.
