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Intra-African trade gets $1 billion push

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Export Credit
Insurance Corporation of South Africa SOC Limited (ECIC), yesterday,
Johannesburg, unveiled a $1billion financing programme to promote and
expand trade and investments between the country and the rest of Africa.
The financing, under the South African-Africa Trade and Investment
Promotion Programme (SATIPP), Afreximbank and ECIC will work together to
identify, prepare and appraise trade transactions and projects.They
will also explore co-financing and risk-sharing opportunities, as well
as share knowledge, with particular emphasis on intra-African trade
matters, through technical cooperation, staff exchange, research and
joint events.
This is coming few weeks after the continent’s largest trade bank,
reiterated its cooperation with Nigeria’s quest for development and
offered to arrange financing of up to $1 billion to support investments
in trade enabling infrastructure.The pan-African multilateral lender
said that its facilities had made major impact on critical sectors of
the Nigerian economy, while the institution now has loans outstanding of
about $3.5 billion in the country as at 31 December 2017.
The bank identified the benefiting sectors of its to include
financial institutions, transport, hospitality, manufacturing,
agro-allied, oil and gas, power, and telecommunications.But addressing
the business community, media and stakeholders from the public and
private sectors, the President of Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, said
that the joint initiative would support businesses through capacity
building and market information initiatives and would help small and
medium-sized entrepreneurs to join regional supply chains.
It would also provide advisory services and guarantees to South
African investors seeking trade and investment opportunities in
Afreximbank’s regional member countries.According to him, the initiative
provides a platform for the realisation of Afreximbank’s strategic
objectives in line with its strategy- Impact 2021: Africa Transformed,
which prioritises intra-African trade, industrialisation and export
manufacturing.
The Chief Executive Officer of ECIC, Kutoane Kutoane, said: “We
realise that one of the best ways to enhance our exporting capabilities
as a country is by intensifying mutually beneficial trade with the rest
of the continent.” Today, Afreximbank commenced its yearly general
meetings in Abuja, slated for July 11 to 14, while it also has the
Intra-African Trade Fair in Cairo slated for December 11 to 17, in
efforts to promote trade among African countries.
Oramah said the trade fair, being promoted in collaboration with the
African Union and the Egyptian government, would be the continent’s
single largest trade fair and the first of its kind.It will feature a
seven-day trade show where Nigerian businesses could join others to
showcase their capital goods and service offerings to a large market,
including private sector corporates and government institutions from up
to 55 African countries.

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