Cairo, 01 October 2014 – To develop Africa-specific and standardized solutions to challenges in the financial services sector and the area of corporate governance, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will hold its first-ever Customer Due Diligence and Corporate Governance Forum in Dakar this October.
The Forum, scheduled to take place at the Radisson BLU Hotel, Dakar, from 28 to 29 October, will bring together bankers, corporates, regulators and representatives of financial institutions from all over Africa for expert presentations as well as panel and open discussions on customer due diligence and corporate governance issues from an African perspective.
Afreximbank President Jean-Louis Ekra said that the Forum had been designed to enable participants acquire the capacity to conduct effective due diligence on their customers and to enhance the capacity of African financial institutions to develop robust corporate governance structures.
“The intention is to assist Africa’s financial institutions to develop a standardized approach to tackling due diligence and corporate governance issues and, in the process, increase confidence and attract more foreign investment into Africa,” continued the President.
According to him, lack of confidence in African institutions and poor corporate structures have been among the major reasons why many investors have tended to shy away from investing in the continent.
The Afreximbank Customer Due Diligence and Corporate Governance Forum is being organised in collaboration with Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, the Government of Senegal and CISSCORP Holdings International, a Senegal-based consulting firm.
Afreximbank plans to make the Customer Due Diligence and Corporate Governance Forum an annual event.
This year’s event will be declared open by Amadou Ba, Senegal’s Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning.
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About Afreximbank:
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. The Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors. Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, Afreximbank has approved almost $30 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $3.5 billion in 2013. Afreximbank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com