A twin Currency Trade Finance Line of Credit of $50 Million and €50 Million has been validated by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

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NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone- In connection with the banner headline, a supplementary co-financing of $30 million for the credit line will attain through the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

Thus, EBID will utilize the three-and-a-half-year facility to deliver direct financing to local corporates. Portion of the facility will similarly be piped through preferred local banks for on-lending to key sectors such as husbandry, infrastructure, and transport. The absolute heirs will be Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), local enterprises cooperatives and growers in the West African region.

The Deputy Director General for the West Africa Region – Joseph Ribeiro, remarked that regional development finance institutions like EBID are crucial helpers of the African Development Bank and fulfill markets and client sectors to the comprehensive development of the landmass.

“They play an important role in promoting trade and regional integration. This is the Bank’s first financing support to EBID, and we look forward to an even stronger partnership in the near future,” he told.

The Bank’s Head of Trade Finance – Lamin Drammeh, emphasized the significant desire for such support in the region. “We are excited to work with EBID to increase access to trade finance in the ECOWAS region with a special focus on the agriculture value chain, SMEs and women-owned businesses”, he let out. “Regional institutions like EBID complement the Bank’s efforts to bridge the trade finance gap in Africa and serve as an effective conduit for channeling much-needed funds to underserved countries and sectors”, he expanded.

The African Development Bank rates the yearly trade finance fissure for Africa to be around $81 billion. Correlated to global corporates and large local corporates, SMEs and other domestic firms have greater drawback in accessing trade finance.

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent