Ecobank Group and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate intra-African trade and close the continent’s widening trade finance gap – with a sharp focus on SMEs, women-led businesses, and young entrepreneurs.
The agreement, announced through a press release on Thursday, establishes a strategic framework to support the implementation of the AfCFTA, which aims to create an integrated single market of more than 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of approximately $3.4 trillion.
Building on a $3bn pledge
The MoU builds directly on Ecobank’s recent announcement at the Africa-Forward Summit in Nairobi, where the pan-African lender unveiled a $3 billion trade finance commitment to be deployed over the next three years in partnership with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).
Under the new partnership, the AfCFTA Secretariat will help channel that commitment toward businesses that have long been locked out of traditional trade finance – from large corporates to small-scale cross-border traders.
“Access to trade and affordable finance remains critical to unlocking the full potential of the AfCFTA,” said H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat.
“Through this partnership with Ecobank, we are strengthening the support available to African businesses, particularly SMEs, women-led enterprises, and young entrepreneurs, to enable greater participation in intra-African trade and value chains across the continent.”
Catalyst for AfCFTA
For Ecobank, which operates in 34 African markets, the agreement formalizes a decades-long ambition.
“For 40 years, Ecobank has been built on a singular vision: to advance the economic development and financial integration of Africa,” said Michael Larbie, Group Executive, Corporate and Investment Banking at Ecobank.
SOURCE: https://www.myjoyonline.com/ecobank-afcfta-strike-deal-to-unlock-3bn-for-african-businesses-smes/
