Afreximbank commits $100m to African trade

• Afreximbank commits $100m to African trade

TheAfreximbank backed $100 million Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) will support trade finance in Africa. trade finance into Africa to also mobilise foreign direct investment (FDI) into the continent.

FEDA, a wholly-owned development-oriented subsidiary of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has been set up to implement the Bank’s Equity Investment Programme by providing seed capital to companies in Afreximbank’s key focus sectors, including agri-business; manufacturing; consumer and retail; financial services; technology; travel and tourism; transport and logistics; and industrial parks. It will invest across all market segments but will have its greatest focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.

The long-term objective of FEDA is the provision of equity capital and related financial, non-financial and support services to operators in Africa’s tradable and support sectors, with emphasis on activities that support intra-African trade and value-added exports.

Addressing the pre-incorporation meeting, Prof. Benedict Oramah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FEDA and President of Afreximbank, said that the fund would expand Afreximbank’s offerings to include vital equity investments that would boost intra-African trade.

Philip Kamau, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FEDA, said that a feasibility study conducted for Afreximbank had identified a funding gap which was inhibiting intra-African trade. FEDA had, therefore, been set up to provide equity and to leverage FDI to help close that gap.